Grantham jeweller raffles prized Vespa vintage-style scooter to raise money for Lincolnshire hospice

A businessman’s prized vintage-style scooter is being raffled to raise money for a hospice after it cared for his father who died of cancer last month.

James Rudge and his wife Natalie O’Brien, who run MD Jewellers in Westgate, had wanted to raffle the scooter last year to support St Barnabas Hospice, the Lincolnshire charity which has a hospice in Barrowby Road, Grantham. They postponed the raffle because of the pandemic, but then tragedy struck earlier this year when James’s father, Michael, was diagnosed with asbestos-related cancer and died in April.

Michael had been looked after by the team at St Barnabas, while James would drive him from his home in Sutton-on-Sea to Grantham Hospital for chemotherapy.

James told the Journal: “The St Barnabas team would come out to him and their family bereavement service looked after my mother and sister very well. My mum and sister are receiving support at the moment and it is really comforting for them.

“St Barnabas offers a great service and we have had customers tell us that their family members were looked after by the hospice. It deserves all the help it can get.”

Tickets for the raffle have only been on sale for a few days but already James and Natalie have raised around £500. They hope to raise at least £3,000.

The scooter was bought new by James in 2016. It is a LML 125cc 2 stroke manual scooter, a limited edition Vespa-themed, vintage-styled model.

Second and third prizes in the raffle are luxury food hampers.

The scooter is being exhibited in the couple’s Westgate shop to encourage people to buy tickets at £5 each.

The couple have teamed up with Grantham business Property Video Solutions, which has made a video free of charge to be shown on the couple’s Facebook page to promote the raffle in honour of Michael Rudge. The couple also thanked GP Motorcycles on Alma Park for servicing the scooter for free.

The couple told on their Facebook page how they had initially chosen to support St Barnabas as it had helped many of their customers.

They added: “Now, after being supported by St Barnabas, the push for MD Jewellers to raise as much money as we can is ever poignant.”

The winning ticket is due to be drawn at the shop on September 20. The couple are also hoping to sell tickets online.