A Northumberland pensioner has raised more than £143,000 for an air ambulance charity by selling his homemade walking sticks.
Derrick Ions, 84, from Bedlington, has sold his sticks to raise money for the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) over the last 18 years.
He first began making walking sticks as a hobby when he was approximately seven or eight years old and currently has a workshop in his double garage where he spends between three to eight hours making his sticks.
Over the years they have been sold at a variety of locations, including Alnwick Garden and Rheged in Penrith and are owned by both the Duchess of Northumberland and King Charles III.
He was also featured on the latest series of Matt Baker: Travels with Mum & Dad, when he was selling his walking sticks at the Northumberland County Show.
Derrick started selling his sticks for charity after having a heart operation at Freeman Hospital and wanting to give back by raising money for a good cause.
He said: “The doctors in hospital said I couldn’t do any more physical work but I wanted to do something to keep myself busy so I’ve made sticks ever since.
“I’ve had great pleasure making every stick. It’s what I love doing and I’ve been selling them to support GNAAS for about 18 years.”
While making and selling his sticks to raise money for his local air ambulance service, Derrick’s eldest son required the help of GNAAS’ critical care team when he was involved in a road traffic collision.
He said: “I’d been doing it for eight years when I was paid back when they happened to save my son’s life. He was approaching a corner, and a motorbike came round the corner the other way and ran into the side of him. The helicopter picked my son up, it was a miracle, and they saved his life.”
Derrick has so far raised £143,970 for GNAAS but he plans to retire his hobby soon, with the last of his walking sticks being sold at Rheged’s outdoor shop.
He said: “I feel fairly proud of how much I’ve raised. It’s kept me busy and Rheged have been very kind allowing me to sell my sticks there with the profits going onto my fundraising tally.”
Amanda Simmister, community fundraiser at GNAAS, said: “We’ve known Derrick for a long time and we are incredibly grateful for the fundraising he has carried out to support GNAAS. He’s made an impressive amount of walking sticks over the years and we’d like to thank him for using his spare time to create and sell them, as the money he’s raised for our charity will have enabled our critical care team to directly impact so many lives.”
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