Incredible chainsaw carving of Colonel Tom Moore raises thousands for NHS

Simon Bogg, from Xtreme Chainsaw, will raffle off his creation on the 75th anniversary of VE Day (Friday May 8), with all funds raises going to the NHS.

Raffle tickets can be bought for just £2 each, up until midday on May 8, and the winner will take home the life-sized carving.

More than £5,000 has been raised so far, and you can enter the raffle by visiting www.facebook.com/Xtremechainsaw.

Simon was inspired to create Colonel Tom Moore after the World War Two veteran raised more than £30 million in donations for the NHS, by walking 100 laps of his garden in the run-up to his 100th birthday.

Simon has praised Colonel Tom as a ‘legend’ and a ‘credit to our country’, and he is delighted with the public reaction to his chainsaw carving.

Over a period of 10 days he carved a large ash tree trunk, donated by Alistair Needham of South Cockerington, to create the fantastic piece of art.

Alistair told the Leader: “I wanted to help with the tree and covering some of Simon’s costs, as I was in hospital last week having a major cancer operation and have seen first-hand how hard it is for the wonderful staff to do their life saving work at this present time.”

• You can find out more, watch Simon’s regular video updates, and enter the raffle by visiting www.facebook.com/Xtremechainsaw.