Commissioner candidate Sarah bets on herself to win for charity (From Knutsford Guardian)

Commissioner candidate Sarah bets on herself to win for charity

4:00pm Wednesday 7th November 2012 in News By David Morgan

SARAH Flannery may not be the bookies’ favourite to win Cheshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner election.

But that did not stop the independent candidate betting on herself to win - all in the name of charity.

Bookmaker William Hill accepted the £50 bet at odds of 20/1 and offered to match it with a free charity bet for Sarah’s nominated charity, Cheshire Search and Rescue.

“As Sarah is working hard not only to win the election, but also to raise money for a very worthy cause, we felt it would be appropriate to give her the opportunity to demonstrate her confidence by offering her a personal wager on her chances of winning,” said Graham Sharpe, spokesman for William Hill.

If Sarah wins, Cheshire Search and Rescue will benefit twice as Sarah will donate her £1,000 winnings to the charity as well.

“They say the bookies always win but the real winner in all this will be Cheshire Search and Rescue, a fantastic charity run by a highly skilled, professional and dedicated group of volunteers,” she added.

Cheshire Search and Rescue works with Cheshire Police and other emergency services to undertake specialist searches or major incident support across the county.

Sarah said: “During my PCC campaign I spent a day training with the team at Sandiway Forest Camp.

“Their level of training, professionalism and desire to provide the best possible volunteer service was inspiring.”