A MORTIMER resident who received a harsh letter from a neighbour after washing his car on bank holiday weekend has turned the situation into a positive by organising a charity car wash.

Jonathan Kempson was washing his car last Saturday before discovering a critical letter on his car the next day.

The letter, written by an anonymous neighbour, was slamming Jonathan for spending time washing his car on a bank holiday rather than spending it with his family as well as criticising how he did it.

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Jonathan’s wife, Elizabeth, said after receiving the letter they decided to have a charity car wash to raise money for the NHS.

She said: “We turned this very negative thing into something so good.”

Together, with help from a friend whilst social distancing, Jonathan held a charity car wash on Monday (May 25), washing one car every half an hour.

Appointments were booked by nearby residents and a total of 15 cars were washed throughout the day.

The car wash was free, but people were asked to donate to NHS Charities Together.

A total of £305 was raised during the charity event.

Mrs Kempson said it brought the whole estate together and they even met neighbours they had never met before.

The couple’s daughters, aged nine and 11, also helped with the jet washing and made a sign too.

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Mrs Kempson said the event was a “message to the girls that we have to deal with these things in the right way”.

She said we have to be “mindful of other people’s situations” and put “kindness first always”.

She added this is “the way we should all be living at the moment because we are all going through a hard time”.

Mrs Kempson owns Elizabeth Kempson Hairdressing in Mortimer and explained she has been home-schooling the girls and trying to support clients during lockdown.