Londoners raise thousands for road sweeper's holiday - in vain

An uplifting story of a community rallying to show its gratitude to the man who keeps their streets clean has soured after his bosses said he could not accept their donations.

- Harriet Sherwood

More than 200 people in Beckenham, Greater London, made contributions to send Paul Spiers on a summer break in Portugal. By yesterday, £3,000 was in the kitty - mostly from small sums of £5 or £10.

But Spiers, who turned 63 this month, will not be making the trip. His employer, the waste management company Veolia, decreed that its staff were prohibited from accepting "gifts or incentives".

The money was raised as a gesture of appreciation to Spiers, who has worked as a road sweeper in Beckenham in the south-east London borough of Bromley for the past seven years. In that time he has lifted "everyone's spirits with his positive presence" and kept the streets immaculate, according to the resident who launched a fundraiser to send Spiers on holiday.