Groundworker digs deep to dress as a woman for a week raising £1.6k for Macmillan

Darren Brown (front) with his workmates

A groundworker swapped his hard hat and steel-capped boots for ladies’ dresses and high heels whilst on site in Middleton to raise vital funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Darren Brown, who drives dumper trucks and 360 excavators, wore women’s clothes for a week on the Middleton building site, raising more than £1,600 for people living with cancer.

The 34-year-old from Leigh embarked on the cross-dressing challenge in memory of his dad, Mack, who was supported by Macmillan before he sadly died of lung cancer.

He said: “I decided to do it because when my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer, he received fantastic support from Macmillan. He always wanted me to work and said not to take a day off for him. He was a very proud dad and he got more out of me being at work than he would have done if I’d been at home with him.

“That’s when the Macmillan nurses used to visit during the day, when I was at work, and I can honestly say they put they put the biggest smile on his face. I would walk through the door and dad would have something good to talk about. He’d chat about the nurses and what they had done and how he’d been treated and how they loved our dog, Pearl.

“They really went the extra mile and simply lifted his spirits, which made a massive difference and that is why I just felt I wanted and needed to give something back.”

Darren works for Coppull-based civil engineering company Matthews and Leigh, which is carrying out the ground works at Lovell Homes’ new development on Windermere Road in Middleton – where Darren wore a different outfit every day for his fundraiser.

He added: “My workmates were very supportive along with the bosses at Matthews and Leigh.

“Every one of them kindly sponsored me for wearing the dresses and they said how it raised their spirits whilst working in the bit of bad weather and it kept a smile on their face as well as my own.

“Passers-by and neighbours around the site, along with delivery drivers, just looked and then looked again to see if what they saw was real.”