Hundreds of residents in the market town of Cockermouth had to be rescued from their homes during the floods that hit Cumbria during November 2009. Robin Benn, proprietor of the

Gulf-supplied Fairfield Garage,was only too glad to lend a hand at the time, and he continues to do so.
On the night the floods arrived, Robin ensured the emergency services, as well as the Cumbria Mountain Rescue and Royal National Lifeboat Institution teams, were able to make use of his forecourt by providing necessary lighting and offering cups of tea.
Now he and a group of friends have raised £1,264.34 to support those services who helped so many.
“We were able to get home and to our businesses, but 300 yards down the road from us, people lost everything,” recalls Robin, who has lived in the area all his life. “You don’t realise just how much the RNLI and Mountain Rescue working together can help people until you see it first hand.”
The men had stated that, should they reach their initial target of £300, they would dye their hair pink. Gulf duly obliged by donating the precise amount. And the boys were true to their word!
“The response was superb, we started with a target of around £600 and ended up getting more than double that.
“Once we’d got our hair done, it put a smile on people’s faces and they’d put 50p in the collection boxes we had put around the garage.”
The money, 70% of which came from garage customers, will be shared between the RNLI, CMR and Cumbria Flood Support, allowing them to continue their good work.

Topics