A LLANYMYNECH man has been praised in front of the nation for his efforts to support his community during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Duncan Borthwick received a One Big Thank You on popular BBC One programme, The One Show, which aired on Thursday evening.

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Duncan has supported his those in need in the community through fundraising, including people who were furloughed.

Duncan was nominated by his twin brother, Simon, who told the show why he felt Duncan was deserved of a special thank you.

He told The One Show: “I’m nominating Duncan because he saw his community was going to be in need of support and local services were going to be stretched.

“A lot of the local population found themselves on furlough, and a lot of families saw their income reduced quite significantly, and that was one of the main things that Duncan focused on – the financial support.”

Duncan encouraged people to make donations of money during the pandemic, and raised thousands with the help of local people in Llanymynech.

That money was then spent to help those financially impacted by the pandemic – but he also helped in other ways, by providing virtual entertainment for children and comical workout videos.

Being a big fan of Gardeners’ World, The One Show brought presenter Adam Frost to Powis Castle, in Welshpool, to surprise Duncan with a thank you.

Messages of thanks from people in the Llanymynech community – and from members of Duncan’s favourite band, Girls Aloud – were displayed on a large screen, and left Duncan almost speechless.

He said: “I just did what anyone would do really.

“It’s nice to see that people think it made a difference. It’s no more than people up and down the country have done.”

An emotional Duncan received a round of applause from members of the community who gathered, socially-distanced, to give their thanks.