Portchester firefighters raise almost £5,000 for charity with Santa riding on vintage fire engine

Firefighters at Portchester Fire Station held their popular annual charity collection last Friday and Saturday, with Santa riding on top of a 1982 fire engine.

Since its launch four years ago, the annual fundraising event has raised around £4,000 each year – but this year saw residents dig deep to raise a bumper sum.

Firefighter Jasper Taylor, who also acts as a charity and community organiser: ‘We are delighted to announce that the grand total collected this weekend was £4,915.81.

‘Portchester Fire station would like to thank the residents of Portchester for their generosity especially at this uncertain time and wish everyone a happy and safe Christmas and look forward to a much better 2021.’

Hundreds of people donated to the Christmas spectacle, with the Seahorse Coffee Bar keeping the firefighters fuelled with mince pies and hot chocolate.

The money will be donated to the national Fire Fighters Charity and a range of community causes across Fareham.

Founded in 1940, The Fire Fighters Charity offers financial, mental, and medical support for members of the UK fire services.

Cllr Roger Price congratulated the firefighters on the total raised, for ‘bringing joy’ to people in the area, and thanked them for their on-call work. He said: ‘To collect nearly £5,000 just goes to show how much the Portchester residents appreciate what you do for Portchester.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

You can subscribe here for unlimited access to Portsmouth news online - as well as fewer adverts, access to our digital edition and mobile app.

Our trial offer starts at just £2 a month for the first two months.