Santa raises more than £1,400 for Crawley school during festive season collections

Crawley Borough Council mayor Jilly Hart was among those who popped by to help the man himself – in the guise of Francis Guidera – to steer his sleigh through the town’s neighbourhoods throughout December. Cash from the collections, along with a number of private donations, raised £1,456.64 for the school and college, which educate children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Mr Guidera, of Northgate, said he was very happy with the amount raised. He added: “Considering times are very tough for people, there was a lot of generosity out there.

“Not everyone could afford to put money in the pot but the fundraising was an added bonus – it was more about doing something fun.”

Santa and his little helpers raised the following amounts:December 12 – West Green – £78.53December 13 – Ifield West – £36.43December 14 – Ifield – £37.49December 15 – Gossops Green – £44.35December 16 – Bewbush – £86.63December 17 – Three Bridges – £22.40December 18 – Northgate – £61.26December 20 – Langley Green – £56.36December 21 – Pound Hill – £119.68December 22 – Southgate – £74.22December 23 – Tilgate and Furnace Green – £142.88.

Outings to Maidenbower on December 10 and Pound Hill on December 19 had to be abandoned.

Collections at Sainsbury’s, in West Green, on December 8 and 9 saw another £363.25 raised for KAANA, a charity for children with cancer in Uganda.

Tilgate councillor Maureen Mwagale runs a Christmas party for the youngsters each year.

In total, Santa and his sleigh raised £1819.89 for the two good causes.

Mr Guidera thanked Sainsbury’s and B&Q for their support as well as councillors Simon Piggott, Tina Belben and Brian Quinn, who all helped out on various days.