Hugh Grant donates £10K to Burnley plumber who does free work for the elderly and vulnerable

Film star Hugh Grant has donated £10,000 to a Burnley plumber who provides free plumbing and heating for the elderly and the vulnerable.

James Anderson founded his charity Depher in 2017 when he came across a plumbing and heating company trying to overcharge and scam an elderly and disabled customer out of over £5,000.

In a bid to right the wrongs made by these ‘rogue traders’, James started offering a number of services to those who needed them the most, including plumbing repairs, heating repairs, gas safety inspections, boiler repairs and heating control repairs, as well as a ‘smile’ and someone who will listen and respect their customers.

James has been funding his charitable efforts via the Depher GoFundMe page and, last week, was startled to see a generous donation from none other than actor Hugh Grant, who had evidently caught wind of his mission.

The plumber admitted that he had to look twice before believing the British film star had made the donation, with him telling ITV Granada: “I didn’t believe it was him… It’s a shock but it’s wonderful.”

He detailed how exactly Hugh Grant’s donation will help his charity, which has helped over 19,000 across East Lancashire so far. 

He said: “That’s ten boilers for people with cancer. Ten boilers for people who are dying… A donation off someone like Hugh is not just about the money, it’s about awareness, sharing and letting people know, showing the public and government the reality of what is going on.”

GoFundMe

He went on to explain how mounting pressures surrounding the charity work almost led him to take his own life last year.

“It was worth the pain, it was worth the anger and tears to get to where we are now… To see how many people we’ve helped, smiles we’ve seen and lives we have saved, it’s really humbling for me to know that we’ve done that.”

So far, the Depher GoFundMe has raised over £80,000 – precisely £83,151, at the time of writing – a sum that will help to save countless lives this winter. 

Visit the GoFundMe here to donate.