Britain’s friendliest plumber reveals how the promise he made to his 16-week-old son to ‘become a better man’ inspires him to provide free services to the elderly and vulnerable

Britain’s friendliest plumber has revealed how his late son inspired him to offer free heating services to the elderly and vulnerable people facing fuel poverty.

James Anderson, from Burnley, Lancashire, who founded the company Depher in 2017 to provide free plumbing and heating support to those who need it, joined Christine Lampard and Dermot O’leary on This Morning on Monday.

To date, James has supported more than 17,000 people and during the pandemic he has also stepped up to help distribute personal protective equipment and food to his community.

In 2013, his baby son William died, just 16 weeks old, and it was then that he made a promise to become a better man in his memory.

He said: ‘I promised my son that I would be the man I hoped he would be if he had survived, and that’s what I do, I do it for William and all the other children and people out there. because they have no voice.’

This year James received a special award from the House of Lords and his amazing work has also caught the attention of generous A-listers; Hugh Grant and his wife recently donated £20,000.

Speaking about why he decided to set up the charity Disability and Elderly Plumbing and Heating Emergency Repair (Depher), he said: ‘It all came from a promise I made to my son that I had to say goodbye to.

‘And an elderly gentleman who called us for a second opinion, he got a quote of £5,500 for a new boiler, so I traveled to this property, he was lying there in bed with a hoist and it took me back to the day we said goodbye to Willem.

‘I looked at the system and realized this other company had manipulated the system to make him believe he needed a new boiler. I contacted them and said either you fix the problem or I fix the problem and I’ll go out and announce it. problem you caused.

‘After a little argument they turned up the next morning, two vans, four men, £1,000 and a brand new boiler for the gentleman.’

James revealed that the situation made him wonder how many other people in the UK are being taken advantage of.

Depher has raised over £1.2 million since its inception and works with thousands of people across the country, alongside businesses.

To date, James has supported more than 17,000 people and during the pandemic he has also stepped up to help distribute PPE and food to his community.

James, who founded the company Depher in 2017 to provide free plumbing and heating support to those who need it, joined Christine Lampard and Dermot O’leary on This Morning on Monday.

It all changed one day when he did a job for a 91 year old lady who had leukemia, and her daughter shared a photo of his bill which was zero, and it went viral.

The money is being raised in a variety of ways, from a GoFundMe to corporate donations with NextEnergy recently donating £40,000 to the company.

James said the business started through word of mouth, but he initially had a lot of debt.

He said: ‘We put messages online and it was word of mouth, we ended up with minus £18,000 in the bank at one point but I still kept going and my wife gave me money, we looked at the opportunity to remortgage the house. to continue it.”

However, he said it all changed one day when he was doing a job for a 91-year-old lady with leukemia, and her daughter shared a photo of his bill which was zero, and it went viral.

But he said it all changed one day when he was doing a job for a 91-year-old lady who had leukemia, and her daughter shared a photo of his bill that was zero, and it went viral.

Depher has raised over £1.2 million since its inception and works with thousands of businesses across the country

James’ amazing work has also caught the attention of generous A-listers – with Hugh Grant and his wife Anna Eberstein (pictured) recently donating £20,000

The viral post caught the attention of Hollywood actor Hugh Grant and his wife Anna Eberstein.

He said: ‘It’s not just the money they’ve given, it’s the time, it’s the respect, it’s the recognition of someone like them that not only allows us to give a lot more to people, it has also enabled other people to support us and do things in their communities.

‘It’s not just about me giving to someone, it’s about me giving to someone who passes it on and then we get a domino effect and then all the communities in the UK come together and do the same things with food , gas, electricity and plumbing. .’

James said he never wants to retire and will continue to help people until the day he dies.

The plumber said people can help by visiting their website and donating, or simply contacting the company if they need help.