Caring Caretaker praises NW200 staff

Davy, whose charities have been made the NW 200’s official charities this year, was at the Paddock on Saturday with his band of collectors when the security alert was announced.

Despite the disruption, Davy said the evacuation was handled very professionally.

“Mervyn White and the staff of the NW200 were totally professional in getting everyone evacuated. And it was very difficult with the terrible weather and the number of wheelchairs and pushchairs that had to be taken up onto wet, grassy ground.

“For example, I had one collector helping me, Arthur who has Motor Neurone Disease and came all the way from Newry, and he is in a wheel chair. All those people had to be evacuated.

“It’s such a shame that all those hours of work and planning and all those good people who came out to help me collect for charity in that awful rain were disrupted by one man with 10p in a phone box.

“But one heartening thing I did hear was a wee boy asking ‘What’s a bomb scare?’

“It’s great that in this day and age children aren’t hearing that all the time and they don’t even know what a bomb scare is.

“I have nothing but praise for Mervyn White and his staff.”

Apart from the disruption and poor weather, Davy had a great day at the races and even met up with movie star Daniel Day Lewis.

“I had watched him in Last of the Mohicans but didn’t recognise him in his racing leathers until I was introduced to him.”