The late Jeff Beck's guitar raised millions of pounds to make sure Folly Wildlife Centre keeps it's doors open.
Bartholomew Hall reports.
Bartholomew Hall reports.
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00:00Sold £75,000, battle 3023.
00:03This is the moment a guitar was sold in auction, saving a Kent animal rescue centre.
00:09Four months ago Folly Wildlife Rescue in Tunbridge Wells was considering closing its doors, leaving
00:14the hundreds of animals in its care with nowhere to go, all due to a lack of funding.
00:19There's nowhere else local to take this wildlife, the birds, the hedgehogs, we have deer in
00:25here, swans, you name it, it comes through the doors and if there's nowhere else local
00:30to bring these animals, you know, they're not going to be saved.
00:40Before his death in 2023, former Yardbirds guitarist Geoff Beck had been patron of Folly
00:46Wildlife since 2005. This week more than 120 guitars, amps and pedals from his collection
00:52were put up for sale, making £8.7 million, more than eight times the pre-sale estimate.
01:00As a way to continue supporting the charity, Geoff's wife and their close friend Johnny
01:04Depp, who is also a patron to the centre, dedicated the total sale of the final four
01:09lots to Folly Rescue. It included a guitar, signed by performers at a Geoff Beck tribute
01:14concert such as Rod Stewart, and three canvas paintings signed by both Depp and Beck.
01:20That means, thanks to the £100,000 raised, Folly can stay open and continue preparing
01:26for the summer months, when they expect more birds and other animals to come into their
01:29care.
01:31It was quite a shock. I know there were some quite key parts weren't it, that fetched huge
01:34amounts of money, but even the lot that was funded for us went for £75,000 and we didn't
01:39expect that at all, so it was wonderful. We're not eligible for government or lottery funding.
01:44It's quite easy to get grants for equipment and projects, but sometimes that day-to-day
01:49cost just to support your work and keep us open, there isn't enough.
01:52The end of last year was real financial difficulty for us and we were facing closure. We launched
01:57an appeal and it brought in about £350,000, which was huge, so this will be added into
02:04that pot. Sandra Beck has been incredibly supportive and Johnny Depp as well, just in
02:09sharing our work and promoting the auction, and supporters and volunteers, it's been amazing,
02:13so thank you very much.
02:15So even if these birds aren't quite singing to the tune of Jeff Beck, the legacy of his
02:19music will help them to continue chirping in the care of folly wildlife.
02:24Bartholomew Hall for KMTV.