Corby Fire Station charity car wash cleans up with more than £3,500 raised

A car wash at Corby Fire Station has raised more than £3,500 for charity after the public turned up in their droves at the weekend.

Firefighters, staff and volunteers all gave up their time on Saturday to take part in a six-hour charity car wash at the Phoenix Parkway site.

The aim was to raise as much money as possible for The Fire Fighters charity, which offers physical, mental and social support for injured firefighters and staff within the whole fire family.

The first car wash last September raised just over £2,000, but that figure was smashed this year with well over 800 cars attending the station on Saturday, raising a final sum for the charity of £3,553.

Craig Douglas, watch commander for the red watch crew at Corby Fire Station, helped to organise the event.

He said: “I thought we would be busy but I was amazed at the number of people that came along. There were cars already queuing 15 minutes before we opened at 10am, and from then on it was just a constant flow.

“We were hoping to beat the £2,000 sum that we raised last time, but we’ve superseded it and gone way beyond what we could have hoped for."

As well as cars and vans William Lawson, owner of Corby's Lawsons bus and coach company, brought his 1956 fire engine for a clean.

It was all hands to the pump to wash, sponge, rinse, wax and dry the vintage machine.

Mr Douglas added: “I want to thank the Corby community and everyone who came along and had their car washed and helped us to raise funds for a charity that is very important to us.

"I also want to say a massive thank you to all the volunteers who came and spared their time and put in some real hard graft.”