Burnley plumber who works for free driven by promise to son

Mr Anderson said the recent rises in the cost of living meant he was "busier than ever"

A plumber who works for free for people struggling with repair costs has said he was driven to help those in need by a promise he made to his late son.

In 2017, James Anderson set up a community interest firm to help the elderly and people with disabilities.

The Burnley plumber said he promised his baby son William, who died in 2013, that he would be "the man that he would have grown up to have been".

He told BBC Breakfast that he really hoped he had "done him proud".

Mr Anderson, originally from Liverpool, set up Disability and Elderly Plumbing and Heating Emergency Repair after dealing with people in deprived circumstances suffering from poor heating and plumbing.

The company now works with 67 subcontractors and thousands of volunteers across the country.

He said that "every time we go to a job, every time we show people humanity, there's a little bit of William in there".

"The day we turned that machine off, I said 'that's it, I'm going to be a better man'.

"I promised him [and] I really hope I've done him proud."

Mr Anderson said he promised his son William he would be "the man that he would have grown up to have been"

He said since starting the firm, the number of people he had helped had risen year-on-year and the recent rises in the cost of living meant he was "busier than ever".

"Yesterday, we had 280 emails and that was before the phone started ringing," he said.

"Today, we had 480 emails.

"We do what we can for everyone."

He said the firm now regularly dealt with people who were in distress.

"We have seen people who have just come to the end of their tether and are sick and tired of people saying no to them all the time," he said.

"We want to get them out of that, take away the stigma, get them out of it.

"We do what we can for everybody."

Mr Anderson said many of those his firm helped were "sick and tired of people saying no to them all the time"

He said the firm had recently extended what it could provide by offering to fit carpets, deliver food and even help with Christmas presents.

"Every child around the UK... if they want or need a present, we will do that for them," he said.

"I've got the best job in the world," he added.

"I can give."

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