A true charity champion

A TIRELESS charity collector from Canterbury who raised more than £50,000 for good causes has died.

David Summerfield, who was 68, was a fixture in the city collecting money at prominent locations – especially for his favourites the RNLI and the RSPB.

Despite being born with Down’s syndrome, David worked relentlessly to help others and became a hugely popular figure in Canterbury.

He spent the last two years of his life at Maylands, a care home for people with learning difficulties in Grosvenor Road, Whitstable.

Amy Hitchcock, the home’s manager, said: “David was a true a gentlemen, he just wanted to help others and would do anything for anyone.

“He was also a very patriotic man and loved the monarchy, often standing to attention and saluting if the Queen came on the television. He very much enjoyed the Jubilee earlier this year.

“And he also raised an amazing amount of money for charity. Everywhere he went people knew him.”

David was born in Herne Bay and was educated at a special school in Bristol.

He lived with his parents in Whitstable Road and stayed there alone after they passed away. His charity collecting earned him a British Empire Medal in 1978.

Speaking after he retired from collecting in 2002, he said: “I love meeting people and helping them.”

Away from charity work, David was determined to lead as normal a life as possible and to be treated normally by others.

In his scrapbooks he had even crossed out references to his Down’s Syndrome from newspaper clippings.

He was a member of the 15th St Dunstan’s Scouts, enjoyed dancing especially ballroom, was a huge Norman Wisdom fan and was at the centre of a campaign to prevent cruelty to tigers.

His funeral took place at St Dunstan’s Church on Tuesday.

Charity collector David Summerfield, who has died