Top plumber uses winnings to help young footballer
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A UHI Inverness lecturer has been crowned On The Tools Plumber of the Year.
Master plumber Jimmy Hendry (46) was recognised for all of his outstanding work in the industry, constantly trying to improve the health and safety regulations tradespeople currently have.
Along with a trophy, there was also a £1000 cash prize which Mr Hendry used to sponsor Riley O’Hara (13) at the Ross County Training Academy.
“I used £300 of the money to sponsor him and will continue my support for years to come,” Mr Hendry said.
“It’s just about doing something that makes someone else’s life better. I heard about his mum who was struggling to find him a sponsor so I thought why don’t I just do it.”
Mr Hendry was worried that since the awards were hosted in Birmingham there would be an overwhelming amount of English representation with little acknowledgement of Scottish talent. He admitted that his worries weren’t warranted.
“There was a good amount of Scottish folk there,” he said. “From the Highlands to London, there were people from all over the country so it really did feel like a UK event rather than an English-based one.
“I really hope that this award showed people that we have real talent up in the Highlands and that it helps give more legitimacy to the issues that I’m raising in the industry.”
One of the things Mr Hendry is trying to change is the lack of a defibrillator on sites. The problem became clear to him after his friend John Aird’s brother Davey (59) had a heart attack on-site and tragically died as a result.
Mr Hendry said: “I’m not saying that a defibrillator would have saved Davey but shouldn’t we do everything we can to up the chances of people surviving?”
