An East Kilbride tradesman is on a mission to pay it forward after the local community rallied round when callous thieves robbed him of his livelihood.
Self-employed gas engineer Bobby Paton lost thousands of pounds worth of tools before the first lockdown in 2020 when crooks broke into his two work vans while on a job down south.
He launched a GoFundMe page to try and cover the £3500 cost of the equipment and rebuild his business, Energy Made Greener.
And he was left overwhelmed by the generosity of the local community who donated over £1500 to help him.
To show his appreciation, Bobby gifted a free boiler, supplied and fitted, as a raffle prize to East Kilbride Community Food Bank's charity fundraiser ' A Christmas to Remember '.
And the lucky winner, Sharon Mailey, couldn't believe it when she was told the fantastic news.
The Westwood gran told Lanarkshire Live : "I can't believe I won, I burst into tears when I found out.
"My goodness, what a prize - to win a boiler is tremendous.
"For a chap to do that is just incredible, I am extremely grateful to Bobby, what a lovely, generous guy. Never in a million years did I think I'd win this.
"I really needed a new boiler and it's saved me nearly £100 a month for the next three years."
Bobby's business is also fundraising for local boy Cole Thomson to help his family gain access to lifesaving cannabis oil medication, and he has also donated its services to the Kilbryde Hospice.
Bobby said: " A Christmas to Remember were looking for donations to support the food bank.
"This is a much needed resource in East Kilbride and with current situations is becoming increasingly in demand.
"We try to do as much charity work as possible in our community as we strongly feel about giving back to a community that helped us when my vans and tools were stolen a few years back.
"I received a lot of help and support.
"My company had seen the food bank's post and offered to raffle a Viessmann boiler with full install to help raise money.
"The winner, Sharon, was in shock and absolutely delighted as her boiler was due to be replaced as it was really old.
"She was very emotional as a boiler is very expensive to replace so not only did this help a good cause but also helped Sharon as she was really in need."
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