Furloughed Wrexham player Shaun Pearson turns to delivering takeaways as he is bored of doing nothing at home during lockdown.
The club’s captain has decided to help out with the The Fat Boar on Tour’s newly set up delivery service so the business can keep running during the tough times.
Furloughed Wrexham FC captain and all round good bloke @shaunpearson5 leaves fans ‘gobsmacked’ by delivering takeaways to ease lockdown boredom. See more here: https://t.co/KqqNHs4tDW @fearlessidzine @Wrexham_AFC @WXM_Lager #photojournlism #photography #video #wrexhamfc pic.twitter.com/ahMPOuLqys
— Ian Cooper (@icphotography) May 24, 2020
The pub’s owner, Richard Watkin, said he and the player became close friends in 2017, and that Pearson is it all for free.
Speaking to North Wales Live, Watkin said: “Once Shaun knew he couldn’t play anymore, he text me saying if I needed a hand with anything to just ask.
“I didn’t know if he was being serious or not at first.
“About a week later, I text him asking if he wanted to get out of the house and help out and he jumped at the chance so he’s started delivering the food for us.”
On the reaction of the customers when he showed up, he said: “I think people like the idea that when they get a knock on the door, it could be the captain of their local football team,” he said.
“There are a lot of footballers out there who wouldn’t do it.
“He’s just a normal guy who’s very approachable and willing to get stuck in. It’s very generous of him to give up his time for me.
“A lot of people have been taking pictures and sending them in.
“I made sure he delivered to some Wrexham fans house one night, they were gobsmacked when he knocked on the door.
“I’ve been trying to send him for people’s birthdays too.”
The pub owner revealed even though he doesn’t make a huge amount of money from the delivery service over lockdown, the main priority was to keep his staff in work.
He added: “It’s fair to say we’ve been overwhelmed with support from local people which has made it a huge success.
“There are huge costs in running a delivery service, but the biggest thing for me is keeping my staff in work, and it’s more to do with the mental health side of things for my team.
“I’ve got people who are used to working long hours every day, so to have completely shut down without warning was difficult for some of them.
“Shaun is the icing on the cake, the real story behind this is looking after my staff.”
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