A WORCESTER man has been inundated with fan mail after appearing on television gameshow Deal Or No Deal.

Despite winning just £20 on the hugely popular Channel 4 show, which gives people the chance to win up to £250,000, Lamin Daffeh inspired hundreds of viewers.

Every day since the show broadcast on Friday, May 8, fans have sent letters, e-mails and generous donations to his charity Fresh Start Foundation (FSF), which he founded with his wife Rebecca, a teacher at Christopher Whitehead Language College.

While Mr Daffeh failed to win money for the charity that supports vulnerable children living in the Gambia, West Africa, his story captured people’s hearts. Dozens of people have commented on the Deal Or No Deal website asking for details of FSF.

One fan wrote: “I was just in tears when he won nothing, how do we donate, thus guy should be an inspiration to us all.” Another commented: “I was deeply touched by Lamin and his desire to help his school. A genuine gent.”

Mr Daffeh, who works for the Worcester drug counselling service Turning Point, has been overwhelmed by the response.

He said: “It’s been very humbling.

“To inspire people, total strangers from all walks of life, has been wonderful.

“Noel Edmonds was fantastic and made us feel very comfortable.

“The other contestants knew I was trying to raise money for the charity and they all wished me well.

“When the game started going badly there was a lot of emotion.”

After the show fellow contestants and audience members had a collection and raised almost £600 for Mr Daffeh to split between the FSF and his 10-month-old daughter Safia.

“Now we want to keep the momentum going, to keep on raising awareness and promoting the charity,” said Mr Daffeh.

“We need volunteer fund-raisers and people with expertise in filling out grant applications.

“We need local people to donate clothes, books, pencils, furniture and we need somewhere to store items before we ship them to the Gambia.”

FSF currently supports a rural school and health centre in Kwinella and want, through education, to give neglected, abused and vulnerable children a chance for a better life.

For more information about volunteering or organising a fund-raising event visit fsfgambia.org or call 01905 20058.