Clever ploy gets around company’s thwarting of street cleaner’s dream holiday

By Joe Coughlan, Local Democracy Reporter and Yann Tear

A Bromley street cleaner who made the national news when his employer blocked him from receiving £3,000 raised by the community to send him on holiday has managed to secure his dream trip – thanks to a travel agent’s smart ploy.

Bromley council’s contractor Veolia sparked outrage when it said Paul Spiers, 63, who works as a street cleaner in Beckenham, could not accept the cash raised through a GoFundMe campaign because its agreement with the council forbade it.

The fundraising page was created by Lisa Knight, manager of an estate agent in Beckenham, and quickly passed its initial goal of £2,000.

Ms Knight said she and Mr Spiers became friends through their mutual love of Elvis Presley, which he often plays from a speaker on his dustcart.

Ms Knight said: “He let slip that he wanted to save up to go to Portugal [for his birthday] because he had only been once, which his brother paid for on his 60th birthday, but he would love to go back. That’s the only time he’s ever been abroad.”

But after the kind gesture was blocked by Mr Spiers’ employer Veolia, travel agent On The Beach UK launched a competition to win a £3,000 holiday to Portugal – with very narrow criteria for entrants.

Posting on X on Tuesday, the company said the terms and conditions of its competition stated applicants must ‘love Elvis Presley, be aged between 62 and 64, be loved by the local community, be a street cleaner in Beckenham and have the surname Spiers’.

Ms Knight said: “They came up with the idea first and spoke to me about it. I think it’s a very clever piece of marketing and a great gesture. Paul deserves it.

“He’s overjoyed. He can’t believe he’s won the competition. He says he doesn’t know how many others entered the competition. I think he was joking, but then again maybe he doesn’t realise what the entry rules were – he’s such an innocent soul.”

The GoFundMe cash will instead be donated to Cancer Research UK, Mr Spiers’ charity of choice. Veolia said it was aware Mr Spiers had won the competition and confirmed that the contractor had no objection to him accepting the prize.

The spokesman said: “We are always happy to hear from members of the public who want to recognise our teams.

“Unfortunately, on this occasion, we were not made aware of the fundraising and were therefore unable to work together to find the most appropriate way to recognise Paul.

“Veolia has a number of recognition schemes across the UK that reward our colleagues for exceptional services to the community and Paul will be the recipient of Bromley’s Employee of the Quarter – an internal financial reward to recognise his hard work and dedication.”

They added: “We are very grateful for the support and recognition shown by the community to Paul, who alongside a hardworking street cleansing team, does a fantastic job keeping Bromley’s streets clean.

“Our position regarding the funds raised by the community has not changed and the decision about what happens to that money is a matter for the fundraiser.”

Ms Knight said of the support people have shown to Mr Spiers through the initial fundraising: “The response has been overwhelming. I’m so proud to live in a place that has a community like this.

“I’ve been here for 25 years so I’ve always known it was a special place. It’s been absolutely mind-blowing, I never expected it to hit this budget or anything like that.”

Pictured top: Lisa with Paul (Picture: Lisa Knight)