A florist has pledged to help the Bradford Burns Unit Appeal by donating £1 from every order he receives during the next month to the cause.
Chris Eastell, 55, of William Eastell & Son, Shipley, hopes to raise at least £200 for the pioneering unit at Bradford University, set up in the aftermath of the 1985 Valley Parade fire disaster, which killed 56 people and injured almost 200 more.
The Bradford City season ticket holder recalled the day of the disaster. He said: “We were busy in the shop that day and I was late setting off. When I got there I couldn’t get in to the stand where the fire was because it was full. I had to go to another part of the ground behind the goals.
“At first we thought it was people being stupid and the fire would go out quickly. In those days supporters were fenced in and you couldn’t move.
“As the fire got hold the gates were opened and I, like most people, left and thought the fire would go out. I went back to the shop and carried on working so it wasn’t until I got home and listened to the news I realised how serious it was.”
The father-of-two, who runs the business with his wife Sue, also decided to support the appeal to mark the completion of refurbishment work at the shop, which was opened by his grandfather in 1937.
Four generations of the family have now worked at the shop, with Mr Eastell’s daughter Sarah recently joining the business.
A Burns Unit Appeal collection box has also been placed in the shop for customer donations.
The appeal, backed by the Telegraph & Argus, was started in August by Bradford City FC and aims to raise £100,000 by May – the 25th anniversary of the Valley Parade Fire Disaster.
The funds are needed to pay for two researchers to work for two years. So far more than £20,000 has been raised.
The campaign follows an appeal in 1995 which raised £105,000 for the unit and kept it running for another three years.
Source: thetelegraphandargus.co.uk
