Donation to NHS service which supported late lorry driver’s grandchildren

A SUM of £1000 raised in memory of a Dumfries man has been donated to an NHS service which helped his four grandchildren.

After Dumfries lorry driver Billy McGaw passed away in January, Solway Vehicle Enthusiasts Club decided to pay tribute – helping his family support the local Paediatric Speech and Language Therapy service through their annual truck show held in Lockerbie.

Billy’s wife Carol said: “My husband was a lorry driver for 40 years, and the lads from Solway Vehicle Enthusiasts Club very kindly suggested that they donate the trophy and monies raised on the day to our chosen charity, which was the Paediatric Speech and Language Therapy service.

“All four grandchildren have benefited from the service – three boys and a girl.”

Solway Vehicle Enthusiasts Club vice chairman Colin Coupland said: “We were founded in 2013 – just a bunch of local enthusiasts who are keen on vehicles.

“We got together and thought we could raise some money for local charities and good causes, so once a year we have a truck show at Lockerbie Truck Stop and then we find nominations for local charities.

“Our chairman Rab Little approached Carol, and they came up with the idea to donate this unit £1000.

“On the day we raised over £4000, so we’ve already nominated about another nine cheques.”

This year’s free event at Lockerbie Truck Stop took place on April 27 and 28 and featured more than 300 vehicles from across Scotland and England, with monies raised through tombolas, raffles and charity buckets.

Reacting to the very kind donation, speech and language therapist Deborah Little said: ““The SLT department is delighted to receive this generous donation; it is absolutely fantastic and will be used to support our work with children and young people of all ages who have communication and swallowing difficulties.”