Fochabers firefighters hail support for Christmas street collections
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
THE cost of living crisis did not prevent folk in Fochabers and surrounding communities backing their local firefighters' charity Christmas street collections.
Undeterred by the often freezing and inclement weather, young and old alike turned out in their droves to support the retained team at Fochabers fire station as they went out and about over December 15-18 in Fochabers, Mosstodloch, Spey Bay, Garmouth, Kingston and Urquhart. There was a new route added to this year's collections, with the festively decorated fire engine, along with Santa and his team of helpers, heading for Lhanbryde.
With around £1500 in the pot thanks to residents' generosity, reinvesting the cash back into local communities served by the fire station was to be the main priority over the year ahead, said Crew Commander Dave Crawford.
He continued: "It all went really well, especially given the circumstances with the cost of living crisis and the weather.
"It was very busy, much busier than we thought it would be.
"We did run late at some points due to the weather but we started some runs earlier to try and compensate for this, although we didn't get as much done as perhaps we might have.
"The new run to Lhanbryde was a success; we kept getting asked to go there and there was an excellent turnout.
"Due to the situation people are facing due to the cost of living crisis we're looking at reinvesting the bulk of the money raised back into the local community in a number of ways, for example our warm place scheme and the Menopause Café which starts on January 9.
"On behalf of the station I'd like to thank the local community for their continued and very generous support. We understand the pressures people are facing at the moment between the cost of living crisis and Christmas."
Mr Crawford voiced his thanks to firefighter Stuart Gerrard, who organised the street collections and the other team members who took on the mantle of Santa and his helpers.
