Professional entertainer Traviss Whitehead from Dartford, refused to put his feet up during lockdown.

His career - which revolves around DJing at weddings and birthdays, compering pub quizzes and children's parties - suddenly ground to a halt back in March.

But the energetic 60-year-old, refused to let the pandemic stop him from helping to lift people's spirits, and in 20 weeks he has raised £20,000 for 16 local and national charities.

The grandad kicked off with a virtual facebook quiz with a few of his regulars which soon escalated into massive online events involving hundreds.

He also helped to organise an Iron Man fundraising event with his friend Martin Fuller, raising £5,860 for the British Heart Foundation (BHF), a charity which both men have personal reasons to support.

Traviss and his wife Denise lost their three-month-old baby Katie to a congenital heart disease and Martin's brother-in-law recently died from a heart-related disorder.

Traviss, who lives in Fleet Road, and is a long-standing lollipop crossing man at Fleetdown Primary School, soon became frustrated when his work dried up.

He said: "I get a lot of satisfaction from entertaining people. I've been doing it since I was 13 and took over a disco at my youth club in Bexleyheath. And I wanted to relieve the boredom of lockdown.

"I'm gobsmacked how it has gone. It has really taken off. On the first big online charity quiz we had 900 people and raised £1,400."

For the past 33 years he has taken part in the London to Brighton cycle ride to raise money for BHF, which was cancelled this year due to Covid-19.

Instead he and mate Martin, who lives nearby on Fleet Estate, improvised with their own Iron Man challenge. Martin swam 2.4 miles in a giant padding pool in his back garden, cycled 112 miles on a static bike and ran a full 26.2 mile marathon around his neighbourhood.

Kim Brophy, BHF Kent fundraising manager, said: “Our volunteers are so important to the work of the BHF and we are so grateful to have Traviss’ support, especially during such a difficult time.

"He is a brilliant supporter of the BHF, having helped with local fundraising as well as the BHF annual London to Brighton bike ride over many years, as well as lots of other charities. He is a true community champion."

Other charities to benefit from his efforts include Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance, Valley Park Hospital Radio, Evelina London Children's Hospital, Macmillan Cancer Support, Arrow Riding Centre in Dartford , for young people and adults with special needs, and We Are Beams, which is based in Hextable and supports disabled children and their families.

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