A POSTMAN who dressed up to bring cheer in lockdown has returned to his costume cupboard to raise money for a local charity.

Phil Hetherington, who lives in Gainford, decided to dress up during his rounds during the first nationwide lockdown, he raised over Ā£3,000 in the process.

This time he is raising money for Shildon Alive, a charity that helps struggling families especially during the pandemic.

His goal is to raise Ā£1,000 for the charity to buy ingredients for childrenā€™s meals.

The 39-year-old said: ā€œI post in Shildon a lot on my rounds and I had heard about the charity, I decided to approach them about raising money and they agreed.ā€

Mr Hetherington has been dressing up as many characters from pop culture including, Danger Mouse, Batman, Captain America, and Mario.

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He will be continuing dressing up until the end of this week.

On Thursday November 5, Mr Hetherington also did a sponsored 22-mile walk from Gainford to Shildon, to raise money for the charity.

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He added: ā€œIā€™d like to thank the people of Shildon and my social media for all their support and their donations, it makes a big difference.ā€

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