The ‘one tonne’ ice bucket challenge

From David Beckham to Tom Cruise, it’s the fund-raising phenomenon that’s taken over the world.
Big bucket: Peter Worthington gets a soakingBig bucket: Peter Worthington gets a soaking
Big bucket: Peter Worthington gets a soaking

So when the managing director of a major Fylde coast firm got nominated to take on the ‘ice bucket challenge’, he decided he’d have to go one step further.

Peter Worthington, boss of Fleetwood firm West Coast Building Supplies, decided simply throwing a bucket of icy water over his head wasn’t enough – he decided only a one tonne bucket delivered by a JCB would do.

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Watched by the firm’s employees, Peter took the icy plunge... and decided to do it to raise money for a cause a close to his own heart.

“After receiving a nomination from a fellow building merchant managing director, I thought it was only right to spread the spirit and camaraderie between our companies,” Peter said.

“It was only right to respond, but I wanted to make sure that money raised went closer to home.”

Peter took on the challenge to raise money for the special care baby unit at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

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He specifically chose the charity after Claire Charnley, who works for the finance department at the company, benefited from the superb treatment at the hospital after giving birth prematurely.

And he also thought it was important to make sure his challenge went above and beyond the call of duty.

Explaining the decision to go for a JCB, he said: “I thought it was important that I not only accepted the challenge, but that I matched it or even went a stage further.”

The ice bucket challenge itself took over two minutes to complete, with the water-filled bucket full to the rim.

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Mr Worthington said: “I thought it was never going to stop, the initial sprinkle of water did not prepare for me for what was to come.

“Once the water started to pour, it felt like a waterfall of ice and I had a feeling of breathlessness.”

Mr Worthington’s wife has made sure that the couple also have a long-standing order to ‘Water for Africa’, to ensure that the water used for the challenge is paid back in some way.

Mrs Charnley also got involved in the charitable effort by taking part in the Great North Run at the weekend, to raise money for the hospital.

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The Special Care Baby Unit at Blackpool Victoria Hospital cares for babies who are born prematurely or have abnormalities at birth.

The unit admits approximately 250 babies each year and relies heavily on charitable donations.

The ice bucket challenge began to raise awareness and money to fight motor neurone disease, but people have now started raising cash for other charities as well.