A Sandbach man and business owner has donated £3,420 to a charity which provides palliative, neurological and bereavement support.

Carl Drennan of CWD Pond came up with the idea while attending the North of England Koi show in Whitburn near Sunderland. 

And he decided to donate the money raised from auctioning off a pond kit to a charity close to his heart – Sue Ryder.

Carl auctioned off a pond kit made up for the show and it raised a bumper £3,420 won by a pond fan from Dudley in the West Midlands.   

"My wife always takes our clothing donations to the Sue Ryder shop in Penda Way, Sandbach," said Carl.

"When I heard about the brilliant work they do, I decided to donate this money to them."

Carl busy at work making the pond kits. (Photo: Deborah Bowyer/Sandbach Nub News)

The avid pond fan, who lives on the J17 estate in Sandbach, launched his business to make pond building easier for everyone.

Carl developed a love for fish and ponds while running his own gardening business before launching CWD Pond as we revealed in our story here

"I've always loved fixing and making things," said Carl. "My first pond came about after helping a customer to building one."

Now Carl's booming business sends pond kits and equipment all over the UK and further afield.

He says the trend has really taken off after Covid when people spent more time in their gardens, often building ponds and now deciding to improve the ones they built then.

Carl came up with the Sue Ryder idea after donations to the shop by his wife. (Photo: Carl Drennan)

"It really has taken off," said Carl. "Ponds were a big thing in the 1970s but when people started to spend time more time in their gardens during the Covid epidemic, they started to make a come-back."

More details about CWD Pond can be found here