TrustATrader member Northern Plumbing & Heating is helping the elderly and disabled in Lancashire to stay warm each winter by fixing their heating problems free of charge.
James Anderson of Northern Plumbing & Heating came out on Christmas day last year and charged just 10p to fix a water leak which had caused an elderly local to have no water.
The resident said "it was a Christmas present, really, it was!".
Last winter James set up a crowdfunding page where anyone could give a little to help support his efforts and make sure that the most vulnerable don't need to pay, should something go wrong with their water or heating at the coldest time of year.
In March 2018 James registered Community Interest Company 'DEPHER' (Disabled and Elderly Plumbing and Heating Emergency Response). DEPHER has helped and saved well over 200 residents in the Lancashire area to date, and will likely respond to many more over the next few months.
The DEPHER service operates during the coldest months (October to March) to fix emergency plumbing and heating issues for the elderly and disabled for free, but there is also a 75% discount available for these groups from April to September.
If you'd like to donate to the non-profit organisation DEPHER, or just help in any way you can, you can find out more at www.depher.co.uk. or the DEPHER Facebook page.
James would love to expand the service to cover every town and city across the United Kingdom eventually.
James said "Even if everybody just puts a little bit in the pot, each month, each week, each year, whatever it may be, it's there to help vulnerable people in the community. We need to come together as a community, we seem to have drifted apart and we need to bring that back together."