Competition ‘loophole’ restores agent’s crowdfunded holiday for local 

An online travel agent has come to the rescue for an estate agent’s fundraiser to give a local road sweeper a much-deserved holiday.

Lisa Knight, a local resident and branch manager at John D Wood & Co Beckenham had setup a GoFundMe page for Paul Spiers so he could celebrate his 67th birthday in Portugal.

Spiers has become a much-loved member of the community, known for sweeping the streets since 2017 while playing music such as Elvis songs to cheer up passers-by.

The GoFundMe page raised more than £3,000 but Spiers’ employer Veolia blocked him from being able to accept the donations, claiming it is against his contract.

Knight said the money would be refunded to donors.

Travel agent and holiday comparison website OnTheBeach has flown in with an innovative way to help though, launching a competition that only Spiers could win.

A spokesperson said: “The team at On the Beach spotted a story about Paul Spiers, who was told by his bosses he could not accept money raised by locals for him to travel abroad on a special holiday to Portugal. 

“Within the hour we had created a 'special competition' to win a £3,000 holiday to Portugal that had certain criteria. To win you must love Elvis,  be between the ages of 62 and 64, have the surname Spiers and be a street sweeper from Beckenham.

“Turns out there was only one winner who matched the criteria - who would have thought it?”