A plumber stepped in to help a man suffering with cancer after discovering he hadn't had hot water in his home for two years.
James Anderson is the founder of DEPHER (Disabled and Elderly Heating Emergency Repairs) - a charity set up to help people keep their boilers and heating running. In the face of soaring fuel and food costs, the charity does much more than that - filling empty fridges and cupboards, paying bills and bailiffs, and even buying nappies.
Yesterday James was called out to fit a free boiler for a terminally ill man who had not had any hot water in his house for the last two years. He said it never gets "any easier" but he has to keep fighting for the people who rely on him.
However, James born in Liverpool but now based in Burnley tweeted this morning that he has had to postpone all requests for help with food, gas, and electricity.
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Speaking to the ECHO he said: "The demand for food, gas, and electric is high and when we send food out we look at it from a realistic view of how families and people live.
"We could spread out the money and give people £40 worth of food but we know that that would not last very long. Especially if it is a big family. If we give them very little then they are going to be in the same situation."
James said that while DEPHER will continue to provide help with heating and boiler repairs, the demand for help with food and electricity has "soared" in the last 12 months. The 55-year-old said that a £1,500 donation was made to the charity last week and spent on food within seven minutes.
He said: "We have been left in a position where we have had to take money from the plumbing and heating fund and put it into the fund we spend on food. So we are taking money from one pot and putting it into another pot but I can’t keep doing that or we will run out of money completely.
"That would be irresponsible of me and I just can’t do that. We have had to suspend the services until we have raised enough money to keep it going."
Last year James helped Huyton woman Irene after he found she had only one tiny electric heater to try and heat her entire home after her gas supply was isolated. Meaning she was without any central heating or hot water.
James is hoping to be able to provide support with food, gas, and electricity again by the end of the week and has currently raised £8,000 towards the fund.
James who is originally from Norris Green said: "It gets hard but we have to keep in control of what we are doing and people rely on us. Help won't stop again I can't let that happen and I’m responsible for keeping it going. I will make sure that we carry on because if we don’t we could hit a point where people are in real dire straits.
"It is the general public that means a lot to us and helps to sustain what we do. Sometimes we have to be truthful and say to people we need to just pull back and that we need more support."
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