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A DETERMINED fundraiser is celebrating after completing a key stage of a rugby World Cup signature quest that is set to net thousands of pounds for charity.Russell Burton was among the lucky supporters to watch England clinch a last-gasp victory in the rugby World Cup final against Australia in Sydney last November. Since witnessing the dramatic win, Mr Burton has spent the last six months e-mailing, phoning and writing to rugby clubs up and down the country to get signatures from all the winning England squad on his match programme, so he can auction it in an effort to raise about £10,000 for Mencap. This week, Mr Burton completed a big part of the signature jigsaw when he met England rugby coach Sir Clive Woodward and got him to add his signature to the valuable souvenir World Cup programme. On Wednesday, Mr Burton, and his daughter Catherine, who has Down’s syndrome, met Sir Clive after a press conference in the plush surroundings of the Pennyhill Park Hotel, Bagshot. The coach was happy to add his name to the programme, which has already been signed by almost all of the England squad, including Jonny Wilkinson and former captain Martin Johnson. Sir Clive also presented Catherine with an England rucksack – personalised with his initials – and an England hat, and chatted to the pair while their photos were taken. Speaking about the charity, Sir Clive said: “Mencap is a fantastic charity and one that we fully support.” Mr Burton, 49, from The Street, Bramley, said: “This was really something special. Clive Woodward has a really busy job and he’s always in the spotlight, but as soon as he saw Catherine he took the time to go back inside and get a bag, and not just any bag, but one with his initials on it for her. It was just so nice.” Mr Burton explained that he still needs signatures from players Josh Lewsey and Dan Luger to complete the set, but hoped that he would be able to finish the signature quest within the next few weeks. He said he would then hand the programme over to Mencap, which campaigns for the rights of people with learning disabilities. It will be auctioned by the charity later this year. Last year, Mr Burton raised a staggering £16,000 for Mencap through various fundraising activities, including a 430km bike ride in Egypt, which was organised by the charity. He said he came up with the idea for the signed rugby World Cup programme to help raise the funds for him to take part in this year’s Mencap bike ride along the route of the Great Wall of China. He explained: “Last year, I raised the money through lots of different events, but it’s very hard work and time consuming, so I wanted to try to do it all in one go, and I just thought of the programme idea.” Talking about his motives for supporting Mencap, Mr Burton said he thought Mencap was the most relevant charity to his 18-year-old daughter. He said: “Although Catherine doesn’t benefit directly from Mencap, she does indirectly. Anyone with a learning disability benefits from an organisation as strong as Mencap, which lobbies the Government to do things for them.” He added: “Getting the signatures has been hard work, but it’s very exciting to have done something like this, and it’s very rewarding in the sense that Mencap will benefit.” [Reproduced by courtesy of Basingstoke Gazette]
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