A handyman who cleaned Folkestone for years before his job was axed has been “blown away” by the number of people signing a petition lobbying for his return.
Peter Phillips was left in “complete shock” when the Folkestone Town Sprucer Team, which he had led since 2012, was scrapped because of a lack of funds – a move critics fear will be “detrimental” to the local economy.
Over the years Mr Phillips has mentored hundreds of volunteers to help them back into work while tackling the district’s grot spots – efforts that have seen them described as the town’s “unsung heroes”.
The initiative involved a dedicated team tackling graffiti, litter, fly-tipping and overgrown areas across the town – often covering ground council services did not reach – with Mr Phillips being the only paid employee.
But earlier this year his employer Sunflower House, a charity based in Foord Road, terminated the scheme after a review of its finances, which Mr Phillips said came as a “bolt from the blue”.
“Losing the job you love is a horrific, emasculating feeling, which brings with it feelings of anxiety and depression and everything else,” he said at the time.
But since Mr Phillips downed tools, a petition urging Folkestone Town Council and the ‘wider’ government to find the necessary cash to reinstate his role has been launched on the campaign website change.org.
It has now attracted 1,000 signatories.
Mr Phillips said: “The last time someone told me about the numbers it was about 560.
“I’m absolutely gobsmacked. I would love to go back to the role, I really would.”
Now out of work, Mr Phillips says he is “looking regularly” for a new job where he can utilise all the skills he had gained and shared with Folkestone over the last 10 years.
There was initially a glimmer of hope, he explained, that Dover District Council was interested in his services but ultimately there too a lack of money meant no arrangement was finalised.
In Folkestone, Mr Phillips’ team could often be seen clearing up former traveller sites, tackling a town centre subway nicknamed “Heroin Alley”, which was regularly strewn with hypodermic needles, alongside other tasks such as repainting street furniture and clearing pathways.
With the town braced for some of its busiest weeks of the year with summer tourists, Mr Phillips maintains his and his group’s efforts “absolutely made a difference” in keeping the town “spick and span”.
Those behind the online petition – which has been set up by Joe Smith and Kelly Gowar – say they share the same view.
They wrote: “The scheme offered a valuable resource to the town, and an effective way of helping those most vulnerable recover from addiction and other afflictions.
“Some days they would collect up to 30 bags of rubbish from our streets, and would help clean graffiti and repair vandalised areas and bring them back into public use.
“Would you visit an untidy town?
“The financial benefit of tourism to the local economy is estimated to be £268m, and the loss of the effect the town sprucers have had could be detrimental to the local economy, and the many independent businesses that we love in the Old High Street and Creative Quarter.”
Mr Phillips added: “We filled the gaps where the council didn’t even get to.
“I can’t see anyone doing half the jobs we did now.”
He estimates it would require up to £40,000 to fund his work, which also previously benefited from the use of a van donated by Wilmot Citroen.
But whether that ultimately happens or not, Mr Phillips says he is humbled by the number of people who have taken the time to show how much they appreciated the efforts of the sprucers.
He added: “That’s amazing – the amount of people that loved the project and want to see it back.
“I’m blown away.”
Both Folkestone Town Council and Folkestone and Hythe District Council were approached for comment.
