By Andy Hirst

The chief executive of a Huddersfield charity is a wanted man.

Mark Farmer from the Yorkshire Children’s Centre is accused of refusing to wear a Christmas jumper at work and has been charged with attempting to kill the Christmas spirit.

He’ll be ‘arrested’ on Thursday, March 16, and taken to Harvey’s Bar and Kitchen on Westgate in Huddersfield town centre where he’ll be held until he can persuade work colleagues, friends and family to cough up £999 bail money.

The fun stunt is a fundraiser for the charity and they want at least nine other business leaders and high profile people in the town to also be arrested on the day and banged up with Mark until they get hold of the readies to free themselves.

Lynne Haigh from the charity said: “The police emergency number is 999 which is why we wanted those we ‘arrest’ to pay £999 bail money to get themselves free and carry on with their working day.

“We’d love them to step forward, tell us about any ‘crimes’ they’ve committed and leave the arrest to us.

“While they are jailed in Harvey’s no doubt they’ll be busy on their mobile phones and laptops persuading anyone they can think of to stump up some cash to help set them free. They may also choose to use their jail time wisely by networking with one another.”

If the charity gets 10 people taking part it should, all being well, raise £10,000.

To take part email Lynne at lynne.haigh@yccuk.org.uk or call her on 07761 339 284.

The Yorkshire Children’s Centre has its roots back to 1974 when it was set up by visionary educationalist Brian Jackson and has been helping families ever since. It now focuses on four key areas – education, health and wellbeing, employability and healthy relationships.

But the services are costly to run at £3m a year which is why the charity wants businesses to get involved so they can provide their much-needed support for more people.

Brian Jackson colleges in Huddersfield and Heckmondwike provide education for up to 80 young people aged 13-16 who have social, emotional and mental health difficulties and have been permanently excluded or are at risk of exclusion from mainstream schools.

The charity also works with some of the most disadvantaged people in Kirklees to try to get them into training or work.

The YCC promotes healthy relationships at its child contact centres, supporting parents, grandparents or other family members who are no longer living with their children or there has been a breakdown in family relationships.

As part of a scheme called Thriving Kirklees involving several organisations, the YCC provides a range of services including Safety in the Home and Safety Rangers for school children. It also offers health, nutrition and wellbeing support to families in need.

  • Andy Hirst runs his own freelance journalism, website content and blogging agency AH! PR www.ah-pr.com and can be contacted on Andy@ah-pr.com.