A NEWPORT man has impressed his fellow pub regulars by raising £7,500 in two years for a Welsh charity.

Dennis Jones, 60, of St Brides, has worked tirelessly for the last 24 months raising cash for LATCH, the children’s cancer charity based at Llandough Hospital which provides support to families affected by the disease.

Working in conjunction with Bernard Smith, the landlord of his local pub the Lighthouse Inn, and the Welsh Hackney and Harness Society horse club, Mr Jones has organised a range of events from horse and cart rides for children to teddy bear raffles.

The fund raising hasn’t stopped and this Saturday the pub will hold a car boot and a gig.

Mr Jones, a HGV driver who had not fundraised before, said he was motivated to try to do what he could for ill children.

He described the Lighthouse Inn as the “headquarters” of his efforts and added: “We were talking about it in the pub and they asked if I could start raising money and I said OK.”

Bar manager Dave Williams said he is the type of guy that would do anything for you.

“He’s a lovely guy and salt of the earth,” he said. “He’s been a catalyst behind it all.”

Mr Smith said the pub is planning to present a cheque to the charity on Saturday night.

He said: “He’s known as give us a pound Dennis.”

The pub’s car boot sale runs from 10am until 2pm on Saturday while the presentation evening and music will start at 8pm.