Signs of dirt no match for Buck in cleaning job

A severely disabled man from Stanton who cleans road signs is hoping people can help him reach more towns and villages in East Anglia.

Michael ‘Buck’ Read was diagnosed with a rare bone disease in 2006, which has taken both of his legs and half of all his fingers barring one thumb.

He started his venture ‘Now You See It’ because he wanted to help his community and not just sit at home.

He said: “I started about two years ago when I saw a sign in Stanton that was overgrown and unreadable, so I trimmed it back and cleaned it up.

“I was then asked to clear a path in the village too and it has gone from there.”

Mr Read has done more than 800 jobs since then and it has taken him all over Suffolk and Norfolk including Bury St Edmunds Beccles, Diss, Bungay and Halesworth.

He is helped by his carer, Mandy Mortimer, from Stanton and Tim Edmunds, from Thetford.

He said: “I get great satisfaction from doing this work and hope by making the signs more visible I am helping to save lives too.”

He has been given a diagnosis that could see him lose both his hands by 2022 but Michael has big plans.

Having previously been homeless he hopes, with the support of the public, to give chances to more people that are in need of help.

He said: “I use my own money for tools and go to new places after people tell me about them.

“I hope to set this up as a charity and help others who are homeless or have a disability to help the communities around them, so donations or new places to go from the public would be appreciated.”

For details on Now You See It go to the Facebook page- www.facebook.com/Now-you-see-it-188517881788980/ or email nowyouseeitagain2018@hotmail.com