The Grinch caused comedy carnage during a walk from Withernsea to Hull
Scenes of chaos erupted in Hull this weekend when the Grinch descended upon the region. Thankfully Dr Seuss’s fuzzy foe wasn’t in town to steal Christmas – he was bringing festive cheer to a marathon walk, all to raise funds for Hull4Heroes.
Dad-of-two Dave Gelder of Burstwick is no stranger to the comedy walk. He told how The Grinch barrelled through the streets on a mammoth 26 mile trek from Withernsea to Hull city centre on Sunday, causing carnage along the way.
Along the way he stopped off in a barbers to give a buzz cut, joined partygoers in a pub for a dance or two and wowed hordes of shocked youngsters, helping to raise more than £1,500 so far.
Dave, who works at Swift Caravans, said: “The walk/run is never easy. It begins with me getting to Withernsea for 7.30am on a Sunday morning, this year dragging my full family, my partner and two children, with me but it made the start a special one this year.
“We headed from Withernsea to Patrington, Ottringham, Keyingham, Camerton, Thorngumbald and Hedon – where the Grinch popped into the barbers to give a buzz cut – up along the A1033, Marfleet Lane, Holderness Road and Old Town. Then 26 miles later we finished in Princes Quay at the Hull4Heroes offices.
“Throughout this journey, The Grinch caused lots of mayhem with members of public, motorists, ambulance drivers, mischief in shops and pubs and just being his cheeky self! From doing this, we raised a grand total of £1500.06 but with my GoFundMe page it will go up.
“Alongside doing this walk, The Grinch has a busy diary this time of the year. He joins Santa and his sleigh around Keyingham, Thorngumbald and Burstwick. This year he is also attending a cafe in Hull several times, where he again gets up to a lot of antics!”
Dave told how the Grinch antics started many years ago, while also revealing a poignant reason behind it all.
He said: “I’ve been doing charity work for a number of years now, and it all started in and around Doncaster where I lived and grew up in. I moved to Burstwick in 2020 and brought my love for charity work with me, where I began doing Burstwick Party in the Park in 2022, a family fun day. Over the years the event gets bigger and bigger and we have raised over £30,000 for different charities across Hull and East Riding.
“The Grinch antics began in Doncaster and when I moved over here. I randomly thought of completing the charity walk/run from Withernsea to Hull , as you do. And I decided on Hull4Heroes as my chosen charity because my family have all served and this is my way of giving back. From then I’ve held a promise in that I would continue to do the walks/run in aid of this fantastic charity.
“I work full time at Swift caravans building holiday homes which is a fantastic place to work and they always support what I do, and sponsor my event I put on each year which is amazing and cannot thank them enough.
“The main reason I do this is I suffer with depression. I am not diagnosed with it but I know I do, and me doing these events and raising money for these charities is keeping my mind busy and also putting smiles on peoples faces.
“It’s like my medicine if that makes sense. Reading everyone’s kind words and seeing the money in my buckets, I’ve managed to achieve it again this year and can’t thank everyone enough for it.”
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