A thrifty man has donated a piggy bank containing one pound coins to charity on the week before the old coins went out of circulation.

David Gavins had been saving the cash for a rainy day fund since 2015 but realised he had to smash into the Terramundi pot before the coins went out of legal tender.

After hearing about the work of WellBoring, a Chippenham charity launched to improve water supplies for Kenyan communities, he handed over the piggy bank fund.

Trustees at the charity smashed into the pot of cash, which to Mr Gavins’s astonishment contained over £700.

The money will now fund well number 34 set up by the Chippenham charity.

Trustee Nigel Linacre said: “David wanted to make a difference, and this is going to make a huge difference. His donation will cover a fifth of funding needed for a new well for a community in Kenya. He was very generous and we hope that more people might fill terramundi pots for our charity!”

As well as the money, trustees discovered that Mr Gavins had left a secret wish to himself in the pot when he started the fund in 2015, which they reminded him of while thanking him for his generosity.

For more information about WellBoring visit the charity on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Wellboring/