A SELFLESS six months of work by a Minehead man has raised £5,500 for three good causes.

Hairdresser Daniel James initially wanted to gather £1,800 to buy specialist bikes for his friends’ sons, Jake and Theo Shopland from Porlock, who suffer from cerebral palsy.

But his plan to auction off hand-painted fibreglass gorillas gained so much support that a long-awaited charity event held in Bristol attended by almost 100 people generated more than three times his original target.

The remainder will be divided between Minehead RNLI and the Bristol Children’s Hospital.

Daniel said: “I said if I could get anywhere near to £5,000 then I would be over the moon so this total is fantastic.

“I have put a lot of effort in on top of my day job but it has all been worth it.

“The majority of people at the event were from Minehead and I am so grateful to everyone who came and would like to say a huge thank you to the many people who have helped along the way for their support.”