Carlisle has rallied behind an unsung hero after he lost his livelihood in a devastating fire.

Tom Prendergast, who has lived in the city for over 40 years, has dedicated much of his time helping the homeless by volunteering his time and services at the Community Chef project at St Herbert’s Church, which is run by chef Mike Cullen.

On April 23, Tom lost his stored personal goods and items donated for the homeless in a huge blaze at his yard on Willowholme Industrial Estate.

Now, two separate fund-raising campaigns have been launched to help Tom get back on his feet and continue his efforts to help the less fortunate in Carlisle.

One is being undertaken by Mike Cullen himself – he is undertaking an epic 10-day sponsored bus ride across the length and breadth of the country.

He will set off from Carlisle just after 7am on June 1, and will also raise money for the Community Chef Project.

His trip, which has been sponsored by Pioneer, Morrisons, and Carlisle Veterans Association, will see him reach all four corners of the UK.

Mike said: “Tom has lost everything, including his mobile home and static caravan.

“He does a lot of work for us. He does house clearances and gives us the furniture he doesn’t use, and does deliveries and only charges for petrol.

“I’ve known him for five years and he’s always there.”

A fundraising campaign will be set up prior to Mike setting off, with some of the money also going to the community chef project.

He added: “We’ve been at St Herbert’s for just under 12 months. We feed 70 to 80 people a week, we do breakfast and evening meals.

“If you can afford to pay, it’s £3.50 – if not, it’s free.”

A second fundraiser has also been set up on GoFundMe by a local woman, solely raising money for Tom.

It reads: “Tom has dedicated much of his time and energy into assisting the less fortunate members of this community and in this time of personal tragedy I am appealing to well wishers to kindly donate funds to help him clean up, rebuild his yard and carry on.

“Tom has been collecting donated food stuff from local supermarkets for the (Community Chef) program. He also sources, stores and delivers donated essential household items to assist the newly re-homed.”

Donations can be made to the campaign at uk.gofundme.com/f/help-tom-an-unsung-hero-rebuild-his-passion.