Burnley plumber and charity hero whose work is supported by Hollywood star Hugh Grant to become a real life Santa

Keen to ease the burden on parents who may be struggling this year James will open the doors of the Depher shop in Keirby Walk on Friday and Saturday, December 22nd and 23rd, between 10am and 4pm and every child who visits with their parents will be invited to choose two presents each for free.

Calling it the Depher Christmas Present James said: “The catch is the parents must stay quiet and let the children choose exactly what they want.

“It’s Christmas and every child should have presents to open, we want to spread some festive spirit around Burnley.”

Depher’s storeroom is bursting at the seams with donations of toys and gifts for the project and James revealed this week that a top British actress had also donated an amazing £2,500 towards the project.

He said: “At the moment she doesn’t want to go public but she has given us a tremendous boost. She has also donated money which will enable us to buy over 30 boilers for people’s homes in the next three months.”

The actress is the second ‘A’ list star to throw support behind Depher. ‘Bridget Jones’ and ‘Notting Hill’ star Hugh Grant has donated around £45,000 to help provide free food for those in need as well as plumbing and heating services to the elderly and vulnerable. Singer Lily Allen has also donated to the cause.

In the lead up to the Christmas present event the Depher Christmas grotto takes place on Saturday, December 16th, at Nelson House (Masonic Hall). Running from 10am to 6pm attractions include a snowglobe, elves and Christmas trees. In the evening the Depher team will host a festive party for all the business and organisations that support them.

James set up Depher (Disability and Elderly Plumbing and Heating Emergency Repair), a registered CIC in 2017. Relying solely on public donations to provide a free service to these vulnerable groups James and the Depher team supported over 17,000 families during the pandemic.

Earlier this year James was one of 26 individuals to be recognised at the Palace of Westminster with the prestigious British Citizen Award.