LLANDUDNO Fire Station enjoyed a record-breaking charity car wash last weekend, raising more than £1,000 in their first event of this kind in almost two years.

Firefighters at the station typically hold two car washes a year, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, had not previously done so since November 2019.

Never before had they raised as much money as they managed on Sunday, October 17, with all of the proceeds going to The Fire Fighters Charity, which supports members of the UK fire services community.

And they managed almost double the £550 they managed last time despite having to cut short Sunday’s event after the team received a fire call about 45 minutes before the event’s scheduled end time.

Firefighter Josh Rose said: “It went very well; we had a fantastic turnout from all of the people at the fire station, they all came to help, and we had a lot of friendly people coming to have their cars washed.

“The initial count-up was about £970, and then we had some last-minute donations from a couple of other people, which pushed it over £1,000.

“We had a good, steady flow of cars all day – we very rarely had any break!

“I was pretty overwhelmed by the amount of support that the public gave to us. I think, because of COVID, people’s appreciation of emergency services and other businesses that have had to stay open (has grown); people have been really charitable.

“Now, we’ve got a benchmark to try and beat – the next one should be in about March next year, and we’ll aim to try and beat the £1,000 mark that has now been set.

“I think everybody apart from a couple of cars donated via cash. A couple did contactless payment, but we’re still in the early stages with that and maybe, at the next car wash, we’ll be able to have a better system in place for the contactless payments as well.”

You can also donate directly to The Fire Fighters Charity by visiting: www.firefighterscharity.org.uk/donate/give-a-one-off-donation.