A plumber in Burnely who helps vulnerable and elderly people in his community for free has received a huge donation from actor Hugh Grant.
The actor has made a donation of £10,000 to plumber James Anderson leaving him in “shock”, reports The Lancashire Telegraph.
Mr Anderson is the founder of a charity that provides free plumbing and heating work to local elderly and vulnerable residents.
Called Depher, the charity was first set up in 2017 to serve his local community of Burnley, which is ranked the 11th most deprived area in the UK according to the 2019 index of multiple deprivation.
Depher has completed 43,679 free emergency jobs and helped 18,297 disabled or terminally ill families who could not otherwise afford the cost. / Credit: Depher via GoFundMe
Depher has completed 43,679 free emergency jobs and helped 18,297 disabled or terminally ill families who could not otherwise afford the cost.
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It was founded after Mr Anderson witnessed a Plumbing and Heating company trying to overcharge and scam an elderly and disabled gentleman out of a total of £5500.00,
The donation from Mr Grant came through GoFundMe as part of the charity’s winter appeal, which has raised more than £80,000 at the time of writing.
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Mr Anderson made headlines in 2019 after a bill of his for a 91-year-old woman showing a total cost of £0 went viral.
The charity was founded after Mr Anderson witnessed a plumbing and heating company trying to overcharge and scam an elderly and disabled gentleman out of a total of £5500.00. / Credit: Depher via GoFundMe
The publicity meant that a lot of celebrities, and members of the public started to donate to his charity by way of showing their support.
Still, he said he had to “look twice” when he saw the donation come in from Mr Grant – especially after in July of this year the charity nearly had to shut down due to a lack of funding.
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He told The Lancashire Telegraph: “I didn’t believe it was him. It’s a shock but it’s wonderful.”
“That’s 10 boilers for people with cancer. Ten boilers for people who are dying.”
The charity has since recovered, and for Mr Anderson such a big donation from someone like Hugh isn’t just about the money – but also the awareness it brings to his cause, which is more needed than ever as household costs continue to rise across the UK.
Celebrities and members of the public started to donate to his charity by way of showing their support / Image: Depher via GoFundMe
Describing the problem faced by many in his area as well as those further afield, Mr Anderson said: “Too many elderly and disabled people are forgotten about and left to face the daily struggles with life saving repairs, without a second thought of what they face.
“Since March 2017, we have seen more than there should be and it is growing out of control, with no help available it can only get worse unless we help and show community spirit.
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“The government system has not been set up to deal with the issues that they face and i feel they never will, that is why Depher has been launched.
“With 16.5 million elderly and disabled people living within this United Kingdom, it can mean the difference between life and death, especially in the winter time.”
If you would like to donate to Mr Anderson’s GoFundMe, you can do so here.
Tram diversions and disruption on Market Street as improvement works are carried out
Emily Sergeant
Essential improvement works are currently taking place on the Metrolink network between Shudehill and Market Street.
As the next phase of the ongoing £150m investment into Greater Manchester’s tram network gets under way this month, essential track replacement work is now being carried out in a bid to make the network ‘safer’ and ‘more resilient and reliable’ for years to come.
As of yesterday (1 June) through to Tuesday 9 June, improvement works are taking place in the city centre, and during this time, no trams will operate via Market Street and Shudehill.
This means that, while the work is carried out, some disruption is expected and passengers are urged to ‘plan ahead’ for their journeys.
For the next week, all services from Altrincham will operate to Bury via Exchange Square, and all services from Bury will operate to Altrincham via Exchange Square – with neither calling at Piccadilly Gardens, Piccadilly, Market Street, and Shudehill.
Tram diversions and disruption on Market Street as improvement works are carried out / Credit: The Manc Group
Services from the Trafford Centre will operate to Etihad Campus, while services from Manchester Airport will operate to Victoria via Exchange Square.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has advised that, for customers on the Bury and Altrincham lines, the easiest way to reach Piccadilly will be by changing trams at St Peters Square, although you may need to change platforms for the right trams, so you should check departure boards and signage on stop for more details.
Customers may need to change trams, take a short walk, or hop on the free Bee Network bus to continue their journey. Outside of free bus operating times, however, a replacement bus will operate between Piccadilly and Victoria.
🛠️ Tram works are taking place in the city centre until Tuesday 9 June. Changes to the service pattern are in place:
– Altrincham/Bury & Airport/Victoria services are operating via Exchange Square – Trafford Centre services are operating to Etihad Campus
“These improvements are part of our continued £150m investment to make our tram network safer, more reliable and more resilient for the long term,” commented Ian Davies, who is TfGM’s Network Director for Metrolink.
“I’d strongly encourage everyone travelling during this period to plan ahead, as some tram services will need to change while we carry out this essential work.”
Tram services will resume via the Market Street/Shudehill stops from the start of service on Wednesday 10 June.
Everything you need to know about the planned works is on the TfGM website here.
Featured Image – TfGM
News
Pair jailed after filming themselves driving over 130mph before killing man in fatal Manchester collision
Emily Sergeant
Two men who filmed themselves driving at speeds of over 130mph before a fatal collision earlier this year have now been jailed.
20-year-old Uways Hussain, of Marley Road in Manchester, has been sentenced to 11 years and eight months in prison, while 23-year-old Usmon Mahmood, of Buller Road in Manchester, has been sentenced to 12 years and nine months.
Their sentences follow a night of what Greater Manchester Police (GMP) called ‘dangerous driving’ around the South Manchester area, which started at around 11pm on the evening before the collision.
The vehicle – a Volkswagon Golf – belonged to Mahmood, but he allowed Hussain to drive the vehicle at high-speed throughout the night.
On the evening prior to the collision, beginning at around 11pm, Hussain and Mahmood were driving recklessly around the South Manchester area.
According to police, the pair filmed themselves consistently travelling at speeds of over 100mph on 30mph roads, and in several cases, theyvreached over 130mph and seconds before impact, were recorded at 139mph.
Recorded footage also showed them running red lights and weaving through traffic with no regard for the safety of other road users or pedestrians.
At one stage during the night, the pair stopped at a petrol station, where footage shows Mahmood inhaling from a balloon in the passenger seat, while later o Hussain can be seen doing over 100mph and also appearing to be inhaling from a balloon while driving.
The fatal collision happened at around 4:36am on Monday 9 March 2026 at the junction of Green End Road and Kingsway, where the victim – Sylvester Abayomi, 50 – was on his way to work and entered the junction on a green light, believing it was safe to proceed, but was then struck by the car being driven by Hussain, which had travelled through a red light at extremely high speed.
Sylvester Abayomi / Credit: GMP
Immediately following the collision, GMP received several emergency calls and an automatic alert from Hussain’s Apple Watch saying he had been involved in a collision.
During this alert, both men could be heard discussing plans to flee the scene and attempting to decide what evidence they needed to remove from the vehicle. They were also heard discussing reporting the vehicle as stolen, and shortly afterwards, they booked an Uber to escape.
Emergency services attended the scene, but sadly, despite their best efforts, Sylvester sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead.
GMP says it received its first report of the incident at 4:37am,, and within 12 minutes the pair had been located, caught, and arrested by officers.
DC Thomas Johnson, from GMP’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, described the incident as ‘one of the most extreme cases of dangerous driving we have encountered’.
It’s also believed that this is one of the first times in the country where a passenger has been convicted for aid and abetting causing death by dangerous driving.
Georgina Pellant -
27th October 2021 
