GEORGE Neasham has raised almost £9,000 for charity by crafting wooden garden furniture and selling it to an ever-increasing customer base.

His latest round of creations has resulted in a donation of £1,010 to Ayrshire Cancer Support.

They are the main beneficiaries of his work, which started off by accident while he was on a caravan holiday. He made a seat and fellow tourists were soon asking if he could make them one — complete with the name of each individual caravan, just like his.

These days, the garden of his New Cumnock home is full of his sturdy wooden products such as flowerpot men, bird tables, plant pots, wishing wells and more.

Describing himself as a ‘jack-of-all-trades and master of none’, he said: “It was my late wife Molly who inspired me to start making items for charity in 2012.

“In her memory, Ayrshire Cancer Support have been the main recipients but I have also made donations to Ayrshire Hospice and the Beatson charity for cancer research.

“Now people come and place orders and items have ended up from the north of Scotland to the middle of Wales and the rest of the UK.”

On one occasion, the owner of Heads of Ayr Caravan Park asked to see George, who feared the worst.

He said: “It was because I had a sign in my caravan window but, when he found out it was for Ayrshire Cancer Support he insisted that I give him a chair to advertise it at the main reception. It turned out he had friends and family who were involved with the charity.”

Another backer is Jewson builders merchants in Cumnock who give him materials at cost price as well as spare wood