CREDITON Dairy has given £500 to local firefighter Neil Hargreaves’ marathon fundraiser. 

Neil, who is Watch Manager at Crediton Fire Station, is running the London Marathon this Sunday, April 21, for the Fire Fighters Charity. 

He has already beaten his target of £2,000, with funds raised from three car washes and online at the time of writing totalling almost £2,700. 

Neil said he was “gobsmacked” by the amount Crediton Dairy donated.  

"It was a really, really kind and generous donation.  

“I've surpassed my fundraising initial target, so I'm just going to keep on and see how much I can raise now for the Fire Fighters Charity.  

“I'm excited to do [the marathon] now, it's been several months of training for it.” 

Crediton fire crew will also be taking on a relay-rowing challenge in full kit in the Town Square on Sunday morning while Neil is running. There will be a raffle with prizes donated by local businesses and a cake sale. 

"Everybody is welcome down there to see the crews rowing, cheer them on, see the fire appliance,” Neil added.  

“Children can jump on the fire engine and see what that's like.  

“We'll recruit people as we go as well and obviously continue to raise as much money as possible.  

“A big thank you to all of the local businesses that have either sponsored us or donated prizes for the raffle.  

“It's been massively appreciated and continuing to raise as much money as we can for a really worthwhile cause.” 

Crediton Dairy also supports the local fire station by employing on-call firefighters and letting the crew train occasionally on-site. 

Crediton Dairy Finance Director Chris Hume, who has retained firefighter and management accountant Ben Talbot as part of his team, told the Courier the dairy was “pleased to support Ben” as well as the “worthy” Fire Fighters Charity. 

Watch Manager Neil Hargreaves added: "Thank you to Crediton Dairy not only for the generous donation but also they've released firefighters to be on call for probably two decades.” 

The Fire Fighters Charity supports all serving and retired UK firefighters. 

You can donate to Neil Hargreaves’ Fire Fighters Charity fundraiser online here: http://tinyurl.com/4anw4ytc