London street cleaner adored by all neighbours “wins” a dream holiday to Portugal

The 63-year-old Paul Spiers, working as a street cleaner in Beckenham, south-east London, has “won” a €3, 519 dream holiday to Portugal after his neighbours and a holiday company united to make his dreams come true. 

Neighbourhood unites to gift a holiday to the “adored” street cleaner

Paul has been working without holidays even amid the current summer heatwave; he had been to Portugal only once before and dreamt of returning. His neighbours know when he´s around; Elvis Presley´s hits and good mood are inseparable from Paul wherever he goes.

One of Paul´s friends, Lisa Knight said to the Press that Paul is “adored by all,” and is known in the neighbourhood for “lifting everyone´s spirits” with his “positive presence.” Seeing Paul´s consistent cheerfulness despite hard work, Lisa created a GoFundMe page to raise funds for a holiday to Portugal. 

“Giving him this incredible gift would be a heartfelt way to show our appreciation for everything he does. Let´s come together to make this dream happen for someone who truly deserves it,” said the GoFundMe page. Within a short time, the page reached €3,519; the community was thrilled to announce the gift. 

“Adored” street cleaner denied of holiday by his company

Yet, not everyone in Beckenham was excited. Paul´s employer, Veolia, forbade him from accepting the gift, claiming that its strict rules prohibit the workers from receiving monetary gifts or incentives beyond their regular salary. The company instead suggested that he use the money to donate to a charity of his choice.

Veolia stated that its contract with Bromley Council “does not permit our staff to accept any monies or incentives outside of agreed pay structures – which is a clause contained in most public sector contracts to ensure fairness and transparency.” As the neighbourhood was left in awe, Beckenham residents took to social media to express their frustration. 

“How on earth can his employer stop him from receiving a gift from the community? The donated money isn´t a ´bonus´ or a ´tip´ it´s a gift totally separate from his work,” said one Facebook user. “Gift it to him, you purchase it and add his name. The world has bloody gone mad,” said another. 

“Adored” street cleaner “wins” a dream holiday

The community´s emotions were so strong, that they were noticed online by a holiday company OnTheBeach. The firm then announced a hyper-specific contest for a €3,519 trip to Portugal, the winner of which, it stated; “must love Elvis, be between the ages of 62 and 64, have a surname of Spiers, be a street cleaner in Beckenham and be loved by your local community.”

“What are the odds?” said chief customer officer at OnTheBeach Zoe Harris, after Paul was informed about his unexpected win; “Congratulations Paul. Who would have thought that just a day after he was denied a holiday, he would win one in a competition! 

When Paul´s employer found out about the impromptu contest, they said to the Press to hold “no objection to him accepting his win.” OnTheBeach expressed; “Our holidays to Portugal start from as little as €233  so we can´t wait to see how far the voucher will take Paul. We hope that he has the holiday of a lifetime, a well-deserved one too!”

Presented with the news, Paul responded;  “I didn´t know I was appreciated. I thought I was coming here to do my job.”