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• CLOWNS have issued the following press release...
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A rare opportunity to ride on the footplate of a West Somerset Railway steam train is being offered in an internet auction for charity. The eBay auction, which will start on December 1 and run for 10 days, could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for somebody not already connected with the railway. Photographer Mark Stothard, of Timberscombe, is auctioning the WSR footplate pass to try to raise at least £1,000 for West Somerset charity CLOWNS
Mr Stothard said: "My family is indebted to CLOWNS for the help they gave my daughter Kyla when she was little and I want to do all I can to support them. I am a steam train enthusiast and when I heard how CLOWNS was losing a lot of grant money from local councils and would struggle to continue delivering their services, I came up with this fund-raising idea. As I understand it, these passes hardly ever go outside the confines of the WSR and their staff and volunteer members, so this really could be somebody’s chance of a lifetime to experience riding on a steam engine footplate."
Mr Stothard approached WSR general manager Paul Conibeare, who agreed to donate the footplate pass for the auction.
Mr Conibeare said: “I was very pleased to be able to support CLOWNS like this when Mark came up with the auction suggestion. We all know what terrific and valuable work CLOWNS does with needy young families in communities’ right across West Somerset."
CLOWNS co-ordinator Kathy Morton said: "We are facing a real funding gap due to government cut backs and we need all the help we can get. Mark’s offer to organise the auction was very welcome and we will put the money it brings in towards continuing our services, which we know are welcomed and valued by the people we help."
CLOWNS are based at
West Somerset Sports & Leisure Centre, West Somerset Community College,
Bircham Road, Minehead, Somerset TA24 6AY
Telephone: 01643 707190
Email: clownsproject@tiscali.co.uk
Web: www.clownsproject.ik.com
C.L.O.W.N.S. is a company limited by guarantee No 4738832 Registered Charity No. 110495
The photograph (right) taken on a WSR steam engine shows Kyla Stothard with Kathy Morton and Paul Conibeare. Photograph by Mark the Photographer.
CLOWNS
23 November 2006
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The photograph (above) taken on a WSR steam engine shows Kyla Stothard with Kathy Morton and Paul Conibeare. Photograph by Mark the Photographer.
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Mark and WSR help CLOWNS...
