Australian man donates £2,000 to ensure Jersey Flower Queen is part of popular Spalding parade

A random stranger from the other side of the globe has made a donation for honorary guests to be part of the Spalding Flower Parade.

Organiser Stephen Timewell was over the moon that Richard Thorley, of Australia, had kindly sent over the £2,000 needed to ensure that the Jersey Flower Queen will be part of the May parade.

Mr Timewell, who had last year revived the SpaldingFlower Parade, had put out a request on social media to help fund the trip over for the Flower Queen and St Helier's Constable.

He said: "I had the most incredible surprise.

“Richard told me that he was an Grammar School pupil in the 70s and that the town, and in particular, the school had done so much for him and given him the most incredible start in life.”

Get the latest news to your inbox by signing up for The Briefing

Mr Timewell had been prepared to pay for the trip from the flower parade funds raised so far – before he had been contacted by the stranger.

Inspired by a desire to ‘give something back’, Mr Thorley offered up the sizeable donation and transferred the money into the bank account.

Mr Timewell said: “I am constantly blown away by the support I receive from our local community – but this is above and beyond.

“This gives me so much encouragement and makes me even more determined to work hard to make Spalding a nicer place to live.

“The Jersey link, in my mind, is very important and I will work hard to make it even stronger.”

The Jersey Flower Queen and Constable will be part of the event in May riding in an open top, classic car.

Visit https://www.spaldingflowerparade.org.uk/ for further information.

What do you think? Post your comments below.