Wheelbarrow marathon in garden to raise funds for hospice

Maisie Lillywhite,Gloucestershireand

Alastair McKee,Cirencester

BBC A man in his 70s stands in front of a wheelbarrow, adorned in Christmas decorations including bows and baubles, in his garage. There are tools neatly hung all over the wall. He is wearing a white turtleneck, a black and grey coat, and black-rimmed glasses. BBC

Barry Illing hopes to raise as much money as possible for the hospice that cared for his grandmother

While last-minute shoppers rush around with trolleys in the run-up to Christmas, one man will instead be walking 420 laps of his garden, pushing a lit-up wheelbarrow.

Why? Because he has “unfinished business”, he says.

About 36 years ago, Barry Illing pushed his wheelbarrow from Highworth in Wiltshire to the Buckinghamshire village of Whaddon to deliver a box of chocolates to his grandmother on Valentine’s Day, raising £100 for Prospect Hospice in Wroughton.

After finding a newspaper cutting from his original trek, the 71-year-old, who lives in Cirencester, decided to attempt a marathon in his garden on 23 December in the hope of raising more money for the hospice.

As there were no fundraising websites in 1989, Mr Illing said a form was left in the post office beside his grandmother’s house.

Mr Illing said: “My grandmother sent me a thank you letter.

“In it, she did mention that her friend in the post office was disappointed that we’d only raised £100, so this is unfinished business to put that right.”

While the wheelbarrow he used decades ago was made of plywood, his current wheelbarrow will be covered in Christmas decorations and lights as it is rolled around his similarly decorated 100-sq-metre (1076-sq-ft) garden for more than 26 miles (42km).

A wheelbarrow covered in Christmas decorations sits on a work bench in a garage. The wheelbarrow's decorations include white felt which looks like dripping snow, red and white bows, baubles, Union Flag bunting, a Santa, and fairy lights.

Mr Illing says his garden wheelbarrow marathon is “certainly going to be jolly”

Mr Illing hopes to raise as much money as he can for the hospice after it cared for his mother.

“We set out to raise £330 which would provide overnight care for a patient and we’ve exceeded that so we’re just hoping we can raise multiple numbers to assist Prospect Hospice,” he said.

“The idea is to keep rolling on, with breaks, to complete [the marathon] in the early hours of Christmas Eve.

“It made me feel good building [the wheelbarrow] and taking on the challenge but also, I like the good people of Poulton who wish me well.

“The vibes are just something that lifts us all and I think, in this down time of our world, we need a few jolly things and this is certainly going to be jolly.”