Retired man’s car stickers raise £80,000 for kids’ hospice

A caring man from Retford is spending his retirement raising thousands of pounds for seriously ill children by simply attaching stickers to a car.
Retired businessman Stuart Dixon with his charity car, adorned with hundreds of stickers.Retired businessman Stuart Dixon with his charity car, adorned with hundreds of stickers.
Retired businessman Stuart Dixon with his charity car, adorned with hundreds of stickers.

Stuart Dixon, 73, takes his luxury Jaguar XK Coupe to events across the country, and asks members of the public to buy a laminated sticker and write their name on it for £10.

Amazingly, he has raised more than £80,000 from the initiative for the Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice, and is ready to move on to a second Jaguar this year.

Stuart, who ran Trent Plant and Tool Hire in Retford for 30 years, said: “After retiring, I bought eight Jaguars, and I took them to shows to let people sit in them and ride in them. My son Paul then suggested I raise money for charity, so I came up with the stickers idea, which is quite unusual.

“Businesses have also paid £300 for a sticker, and I have been to all kinds of events, such as car shows, agricultural shows and restaurant openings.

“It has been hard, but I have loved every minute, and this car is almost full.

“Mums of ill children have sobbed on my shoulder. It makes you realise how fortunate you are.”

WHEN asked why he chose Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice to benefit from his charity car idea, Stuart Dixon replied: “Because what could be worse than knowing that your child is going to go before you.”

He expects to raise even more money on a second Jaguar because the stickers will be oblong, rather than circular, so more of them can be squeezed on.

“The car will have the Union Jack down one side and the stars and stripes flag down the other, so it will look amazing,” he said.

“My dream would be to drive down Route 66 in the USA. That would be sensational but, at 73, I’d need someone to organise it.”