Theft prompts appeal to help ‘Quicksilver’
AMAGHULL woman is raising money for rollerblading pensioner Geoff Dornan after his money and belongings were stolen as he boarded a train.
Geoff, 79, who was banned from rollerblading in Southport by magistrates, is also known as “Quicksilver” and is known to many people in Ormskirk and surrounding areas.
The Advertiser believes Mr Dornan had been performing in Liverpool – rollerblading to music for money – before boarding the train back to Ormskirk.
Bethany Parkes, 20, said she and her boyfriend, Callum Kelly, 22, were on the train home from Liverpool when they saw Mr Dornan looking upset.
She said: “He looked in need of help so we approached him and asked what was wrong.
“It appears that, as he got on the train, someone had offered to help him on but they actually taken his day’s takings and the cables for his music system.
“We raced up and down the train but whoever it was had obviously got off.
“We’re raising money for Quicksilver to reimburse him for what he’s lost. He’s a legend in his own right and it’s not fair he should have to go without.”
In 2009, Mr Dornan was handed a £2,000 bill by magistrates for skating in Chapel Street, Southport, after accusations that he was a hazard to pedestrians in the town’s centre.
He was charged under a bylaw for skating in a prohibited area, but this was changed to an offence of skating in a manner that caused danger or annoyance.
Mr Dornan said at the time that he believed his rollerblading was within the law and did not pose a danger to pedestrians.
He said signs in place around Chapel Street in the resort say skateboarding is “restricted” rather than “prohibited”.
He started skating to keep fit, and said that he didn’t know why some people disagreed with him skating in the street.
He said: “I told the policeman who arrested me in Southport that skating is a great form of transport and that all the top cops in Paris are on skates.
“If you tried to ban prams and buggies there would be an uproar.
“I mean, some of those things could be considered as dangerous.
“Surely then we’d have to ban shopping trolleys and wheelchairs and scooters and all sorts of things on wheels.”
Bethany wants to raise £200 to help. To make a donation, visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ b-parkes