By Rebecca Hannant
A Hornsea man has raised more than £1 million for charity through fishing matches and other fundraising ventures in the past 40 years.
Following the success of his first charity fundraiser, Keith decided to step it up a gear, and he decided he would put two polecats down his trousers. Keith said: “I didn’t know of anyone doing that before and thought it would raise a lot of money for charity, and 200 people came to watch me do the ferret and see if I got bitten.”
Since 1984, keen fundraiser Keith Lamming has been busy fundraising for various cancer charities close to his heart. His first fundraising challenge saw him put a live ferret down his trousers for 20 minutes, which raised more than £1,000 for the charity Children with Leukemia, now called Children with Cancer.
However, not long after this first event, he lost his young niece Eleanor to leukaemia, prompting him to opt for other methods of fundraising. Ever since, Keith has organised hundreds of fishing matches which were made more popular through his position as a sea angling casting instructor and the former owner of East Coast Tackle in Hornsea.
He added: “Through my job I met thousands of people and customers. I’ve lost count of how many I taught to cast a fishing rod on the beach and how to tie hooks. I never asked for payment but accepted donations for the charities. Also, through my shop we did lots of charity challenge fishing matches against other fishing clubs, raising thousands of pounds.”
Through his many fundraising challenges, Keith has raised more than £1 million for local charities such as Hornsea Cottage Hospital, Hornsea First Aid Centre, Hornsea Inshore Rescue, and the Mappleton church fund. He has also raised money for national charities such as the British Heart Foundation, Prostate Cancer UK, the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund, and many more.
To mark the milestone, Keith has been trying to organise a fishing match every month of the year. Keith added: “I book a pond or lake – the two I’ve had the last three matches at were the police pond at Leven that I’m a member of, and Tansterne Fishery that Nic and Janet Burton own. I invite family and friends to fish the match for an entry fee, usually around £15. The pond fee and prizes are paid out of this.
“Meanwhile, the money raised for the charities comes from a raffle my wife and daughters organise after the match, with the anglers, family and friends donating the prizes.”
He said the latest match was in memory of two people dear to him called Little Brett and Big Pete. He added: “Little Brett was a little Hornsea boy who loved fishing and would always pop in the shop to see me, with his dad or granddad. He passed away from cancer aged 11.
“Meanwhile, Big Pete, who when younger was a gentle giant, was a local man who I met in our shop many years ago. Pete became such a great friend to myself and all my family – he was like an adopted dad to me and always called me son. We fished together often.
“We sadly lost Big Pete on July 14, 2014. One of Big Pete’s favourite fishing places was Tansterne fishing ponds – my wife Pam and I put a memorial plaque on his favourite fishing spot there. This is why his memorial charity fishing match is always there.
“His last wish to me was to hold a fishing match in his memory, with a trophy with his name on, followed by pie and peas, one of Pete’s favourites, and a huge raffle in aid of a children’s charity. I kept my promise every year except for during Covid. I am so lucky having such generous, loving family and friends supporting me. I couldn’t do it without them.”
The three matches raised a total of £1,110, with the latest raising £500 after Nic and Janet boosted the money up to £500. A cheque was later presented to Castle Hill Hospital and will be shared between the breast cancer, bone cancer and teenage cancer units.