A Welsh food company has come up with an ingenious solution to an unlikely logistical puzzle – how to transport 30 life-sized labrador-shaped collecting boxes from near Wigan to South Wales, where Swansea prison inmates were waiting to restore them.
Castell Howell Foods, one of Wales’s largest family-run food wholesalers based in Cross Hands, stepped in after Guide Dogs charity found itself facing a 220-mile transport problem. The charity’s iconic collecting boxes – which help raise vital funds to support people with sight loss – had been awaiting repair at the Guide Dogs centre near Wigan and needed to make their way to HMP Swansea, where a prison workshop had agreed to restore them.
The solution was elegantly simple. One of Castell Howell’s empty lorries was diverted to its satellite depot at St Martin’s near Wrexham, collected the canine cargo, and brought all 30 boxes safely back to the company’s Cross Hands headquarters before onward delivery to Swansea.
Martin Jones, Castell Howell’s Director of Transport Operations, said the company had not hesitated when it heard of the charity’s predicament. “The Guide Dogs charity raises vital funds to support those with sight loss, so when we heard of their predicament we didn’t hesitate to offer a solution,” he said.
He added: “It was a real team effort, with staff at our St Martin’s depot playing a key role in ensuring the safe collection and delivery of the precious cargo to our headquarters in Cross Hands. We’re looking forward to seeing the restored collection boxes and wish the charity continued success with its fundraising.”
Natalie DeMaid, Regional Fundraising Community Manager for Guide Dogs, said the charity was grateful to Castell Howell for finding such a creative solution. “These collecting boxes bring in vital cash to help Guide Dogs provide its life-changing services to people with sight loss,” she said. “They are bright, colourful, and lifelike, and we look forward to placing them in key locations so the community can enjoy them.”
Once at HMP Swansea, the boxes will be washed, filled, repaired and repainted by prisoners to a high standard before being returned to public locations across the region. A prison spokesperson said the project provided meaningful rehabilitation opportunities, allowing prisoners to develop practical skills and build confidence.
“Prisoners gain a strong sense of pride and responsibility by taking part in work that directly benefits the wider community,” the spokesperson said.
The partnership between HMP Swansea and Guide Dogs has seen the prison workshop become a key part of the charity’s restoration operation in South Wales, with inmates learning valuable trade skills while helping to keep the charity’s fundraising infrastructure in working order.
Castell Howell, which is headquartered in Cross Hands and delivers food to pubs, restaurants, schools and hospitals across Wales, has a long track record of supporting community and charitable causes across the region.
The restored boxes will be placed in key public locations once the work at HMP Swansea is complete, where they will once again be collecting donations to fund the charity’s life-changing work with people with sight loss.
Guide Dogs supports people living with sight loss to have the confidence, skills and support they need to live life to the full. Anyone wishing to support the charity can find out more at guidedogs.org.uk.
