When he found himself with “a little bit of spare money”, Peter Bowles looked for a charity which could benefit.

As one of his friends had first-hand experience with Rockinghorse, it seemed the obvious place to make a donation.

But when he arrived at the charity’s offices in 1999 he got into a conversation with the then chief executive, who was interested in his recent completion of the Sage accounting exams.

Mr Bowles said: “She said ‘oh, we do Sage’ so that started my interest and I started volunteering for two days a week.

“And I’m still doing it now.”

The Brighton-based charity aims to improve the lives of sick children in Sussex, as the official fundraising arm of the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital and also supports the Trevor Mann Baby Unit.

For the past 14 years Mr Bowles has visited shops and businesses picking up collecting tins, taken them back to the offices, counted the money and then deposited it at the bank.

Mr Bowles said: “I have seen them come and I have seen them go – quite a few chief executives and what have you.

“They have got a jolly nice crew up there, they are really good to me.”

The 81-year-old from Hove has been described by staff and volunteers at Rockinghorse as “a credit to himself and our community”.

One member of staff said: “He helps the children’s charity by co-ordinating collection tins at businesses, where he is a familiar face in the local shops, restaurants and pubs that support us.

“Peter has incredible mental arithmetic, which he uses to help our finance team by doing account work; counting money and inputting financial details.

“Peter is a very active and committed Brightonian, whose family have lived and worked here for generations.

“He is the assistant treasurer for the Hove Methodist Church where he also volunteers at their toddler group – Polka Dots.

“Despite his busy schedule, Peter also enjoys spending time with his wife, Janet, and his children Chris and Emma.

“He is a joy to work with and a valued member of the team.”

The Argus:

Hundreds of heroes go almost unnoticed in our local communities.

But The Argus is determined to give them the recognition they thoroughly deserve.

We have teamed up with housing repair and maintenance company Mears to launch our weekly Local Heroes Award.

We are inviting readers to nominate their candidates and tell us why they have put them forward for the award.

Contact Kimberly Middleton on 01273 544519 or email kimberly.middleton@theargus.co.uk.

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