A DAD-OF-TWO who converted a mobility scooter into a Christmas land train has raised almost £1,000 for the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

As The Press reported last month, Martin Kidd spent almost a year converting the electrically powered vehicle into a festive spectacle which he called Edward, after the street where he lives in Pocklington.

He completed the look with flashing lights, music and sound effects.

The factory worker was inspired to support the charity after his dad, David, was diagnosed with heart failure following a life-threatening heart attack last year aged 77.

He took the train out onto the streets of Pocklington throughout December, to bring joy to residents after a difficult year during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Martin, 42, said: “I’m really pleased with how much money I’ve raised to be honest. I set my target at £500 and almost doubled it, raising £986.46 in the end.

“It all seemed like a crazy idea when I started out. I got my inspiration from my dad.

“We had some cold nights when there weren’t many people out, but most of the time plenty of people came out and made donations and people who were already out walking their dogs stopped to donate too.

“I plan to bring him out again next year.”

Martin said he got the idea online after seeing other people buy a mobility scooter and transform it into a vehicle.

After purchasing the scooter for £140 from Gumtree, he stripped any excess weight, built a metal frame around the base and began building from the bottom up.

He said: “It took me 11 months to complete Edward. I got a wooden cab, 300 LED lights and even managed to get the BHF logo on the back of the train, which pulsates and flashes red.”

The festive train ran on dates throughout December and will also include visits to a local carol service and nursery in the run up to Christmas.

There are around 670,000 people living with heart and circulatory conditions in Yorkshire and the Humber, with around 60,000 people diagnosed with heart failure by their GP. Tragically, every 40 minutes, someone in the region dies from a heart or circulatory disease.

The BHF funds vital research into conditions like heart failure, stroke, vascular dementia, and their risk factors like diabetes and high blood pressure, to improve the lives of people living with them.

Leya Baksh, BHF’s Fundraising Manager, said: “Despite decades of progress, heart and circulatory diseases still sadly kill more than one in four people in Yorkshire and the Humber, so we desperately need to fund more pioneering research to find cures, preventions and improved treatments. We can only do this thanks to the generous support of people like Martin.”

Anyone interested in fundraising for the BHF can email bakshl@bhf.org.uk or call 07717 541409.