Bird boxes boost hospice funds

A big-hearted great grandad from Barrow has given his local hospice a £407 boost after making beautiful bird boxes to sell to friends and family.

Ian Espin (91), who has four children, four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, has donated the money to Lindsey Lodge Hospice to say thank you for the wonderful care his wife Margaret received there before she passed away in October 2018.

Ian said: “I started making the boxes from off-cuts of wood to keep busy, so my daughter Sally painted them and put a photo of one on her Facebook page to see if anyone would be interested in buying them to raise money for Lindsey Lodge.

“Friends and family shared the picture and they started to get snapped up – one has even flown back to The Netherlands with my granddaughter Alison!

Thanks to wood donated by Mark Nettleton of Home and Garden Services and Julian Dunning of Caspian Scaffolding, Ian has sold more than 50 of the beautiful boxes, and orders are still flooding in.

Ian added: “I’m overwhelmed by how well they’ve sold, so I’d like to say thank you to Mark and Julian for donating the wood, and everyone who’s bought one for being so generous - I’m currently making three every day to keep up with the demand!”

And Ian’s generosity doesn’t stop there. He’s also donated £100 to Lindsey Lodge in lieu of Christmas presents this year.

Jenny Baynham, who received the money for Lindsey Lodge Hospice said: “We’d like to say a massive thank you to Ian and his family for their wonderful support!

“It was an absolute pleasure to meet him and see the bird boxes he’s worked so hard to make.
“Every penny he’s donated will go towards ensuring our patients and their families receive the best possible care at Lindsey Lodge Hospice.”