'Wood' you believe how generous people are? Christmas appeal to keep Grimsby man, 89, warm is a success

ALL Mr Wood wanted for Christmas was some wood to keep him warm – and kind-hearted Grimsby residents made his wish come true.

Arthur Wood, 89, of Chantry Lane, Grimsby, has been overwhelmed by the public's response after his granddaughter issued an online appeal for donations of spare wood to heat his home.

Traceyanne Briggs, 43, decided to start the appeal after realising her grandad did not have enough wood to keep him warm over the festive period.

And within days of posting the urgent plea on Facebook, Traceyanne said that many generous people had got in touch to donate.

She said: "My grandma died in January and she used to be in the sitting room all the time, so we had to keep it warm 24/7.

"Now my grandad spends a lot of time in the room and it gets absolutely freezing at night, so I just decided to post an appeal on my Facebook asking people if they would like to donate their scrap pieces of wood that are going to waste.

"We have had a brilliant response from people all over Grimsby.

"I think it is great that people are donating their wood and it is helping them out, too, if it is just being left as scrap in their gardens."

She added: "It has all been very touching and I never expected this many people to donate.

"We always laugh about the connection with his surname – Mr Wood is always in need of wood!"

In her Facebook post, Traceyanne said: "This is an urgent shout out. My 89-year-old grandad has run out of wood to burn on his fire. Please help him keep warm and keep his bills down this winter."

And since that post, much of Traceyanne's time has been devoted to collecting and chopping wood – and she has filled her car twice over with fuel that has been kindly donated.

Arthur, who served in the Navy for five years, said he was shocked to receive the donations.

He said: "I heard a knock at the door but I just thought it had come from the television.

"Then the knock got louder and this man was at the door telling me he had dropped a bag of wood round for me.

"I thought he had given me the wrong bag because it also had pyjamas, a hat and a pair of gloves in it.

"I don't know who he was but it was very kind of him."

Arthur won the Unsung Hero at the Compass FM awards back in 2006 and says he regularly volunteers to sweep pathways and his neighbours' driveways.

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