AN OTLEY councillor has presented a £2,000 gift to a Bulgarian children’s home.

Councillor Nigel Francis raised the money for the Children’s School in Belovo as part of his 2017-18 mayoral 14+1 fundraising appeal.

The school cares for a number of children with disabilities and special health needs but has to get by on a very small budget.

So Cllr Francis (Ind, Danefield) decided to make a contribution to help it buy more toys and books and upgrade its IT equipment - but getting the money there wasn’t straightforward.

He said: “The banks in Bulgaria will only take ‘mint’ British notes, and to find £2,000 in clear money was out of the question so I had to get the money changed in England and then I carried across the Bulgarian Lev.

“No-one knew how much I was bringing and when I said I would like to donate £2,000 (over 4,000 Lev) the director of the home and a number of staff were in tears. It was the largest amount ever given by any one person.

“It makes me immensely happy to think that my donation has made such a difference.”