A PAINTER with a rare form of epilepsy who has supported thousands of people through the sale of his artwork has been recognised for his charitable endeavours.

Robert Sutcliffe, from Grange, has been awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for his voluntary services to people with epilepsy.

The 51-year-old was diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy when he was 36 but despite this, he retrained to become a teacher.

His bravery, fundraising and ambassadorial role amongst the young was recognised when he was given the opportunity to be an Olympic torchbearer in 2012.

At 46, a sudden heart attack caused his seizures to return, and it was at this time he decided to teach himself to paint.

The Westmorland Gazette:  PAINTING: Mr Sutcliffe taught himself how to paint after he had a heart attack PAINTING: Mr Sutcliffe taught himself how to paint after he had a heart attack

He decided to donate his work to good causes or sell it for charity and has raised more than £250,000.

“I still can’t believe it,” said Mr Sutcliffe.

“It feels surreal.

“I’m very honoured and humbled by it.

“I think, particularly with epilepsy, you have a sense that you are a bit worthless, or you can’t do things anymore.

“Because a lot of your life changes completely forever.

“You have to change a lot of your life quite significantly.

“I personally felt like I had let people down, I still have those feelings that I could let someone down.

“Because if you have a seizure it impacts on your work and your life and my reason for doing a lot of my fundraising is twofold.

“I want to show people you can be successful, even if you have a diagnosis of any sort, and particularly if you’ve got a lifelong condition, you can still contribute.

“And I also wanted to make a difference and make people feel a bit happier.”

His work, in the form of charity greetings cards, can be found at all 28 Booths stores, with 100 per cent of profits going to charity.

The Westmorland Gazette: CARDS: Mr Sutcliffe's cards, which are stocked in Booths, have raised more than £50,000 for charityCARDS: Mr Sutcliffe's cards, which are stocked in Booths, have raised more than £50,000 for charity

Profits from these cards sales have already funded a project supporting 500 young people suffering from grief.

His fundraising through selling cards and calendars has also maintained the viability of a community shop run by volunteers serving more than 1,500 people living in a remote rural area.

The shop provides a local hub for communication and friendship and during the pandemic has provided a lifeline to isolated people.

He became Epilepsy Action National Fundraiser of the Year as a result of his charity card and painting sales, and his work has maintained the organisation’s help line, supporting over 2,000 people each year.

His fundraising enabled the establishment of a new counselling service, The Lighthouse Community Mental Health Hub- which ensures that 400 people continue to benefit from safe, one to one counselling services each year.

He has bought 100 iPads for young disabled people to support their education via The Rainbow Trust, a defibrillator supporting a village community of 1,000 people, and a specialist wheelchair to support children with rare condition muscle eye brain disease.

And he has painted more than 100 paintings to reward and thank NHS trusts for their work during the Covid pandemic.

Mr Sutcliffe said his proudest moment has been working with bereaved families from the Manchester Arena bombing tragedy and supplying his cards to Booths.

“Working with Booths and them taking me on as a supplier and saying we want to stock your cards even though we won’t make any more from it was incredible,” he said.

“And I’d like to say a huge thank you, it’s all down to people buying cards and calendars.

“I’ve also worked with a lot of people who suffered during the Manchester Arena bombing, I’ve worked with a lot of people who have lost family.

“And what I’ve done is in their memory, that’s why I do it.”