Veteran overturns ban to collect £40,000 for charity

A FORMER soldier has raised £40,000 for charity – after defying mean-spirited council officials who tried to force him to stop his collections.

Edinburgh City Council threatened to prosecute Tom Gilzean last year.

The 91-year-old, who has manned his post for five years, was told by officials that he did not have a permit to carry out his daily collections on the city’s Royal Mile.

But public outrage led officials to issue the veteran, who stands on Castlehill for around three hours every day, with a special permit allowing him to continue his collections.

Mr Gilzean reached the staggering target despite missing several weeks.

He said the figure, which has been split between five different charities, was the highest he had managed in a single year.

Mr Gilzean, who lives in the Peffermill area of the city, said: “This is the most I have raised.

“I was very busy this year and got out as much as I could. I was in hospital for three weeks in April and then I went away on holiday for 11 days with my daughter-in-law and son as they took me on a cruise, so I missed the whole of April.”