Falmouth police 'Gangnam' video raises £10,000
2:30pm Thursday 17th January 2013 in News
Falmouth police 'Gangnam' video raises £10,000
A video made by Falmouth police officers to benefit a young boy with a reoccurring brain tumour has raised more than £10,000.
The “Gangnam Style” video, which features neighbourhood sergeant Gary Watts and colleagues, went live online last week and has already garnered more than 180,000 views.
It seeks to benefit Joshua Wilson, a 12-year-old boy from Bury in Lancashire who was first diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2004 and now has severe neuromuscular disabilities that require a fully-adapted home.
His family needs £25,000 to pay for a ceiling track hoist, a special medical bath and other building alterations.
The idea for the tongue-in-cheek video came when someone on behalf of Josh, who is a big fan of the police and fire service, requested a police helmet through social networking website Twitter.
After headquarters authorised the request, Sgt Watts was able to send the young boy a pre-used helmet that he wears with pride.
The sergeant then vowed to recreate the popular Gangnam Style dance if he reached 5,000 followers on Twitter before the end of the year, a feat he duly accomplished with a little help from the #GangnamPoliceman hashtag.
“Once it dawned on me that this could really happen I wanted to make something good come from it,” Sgt Watts said.
A limited edition set of customisable children’s toys known as “Floppets”, which can be attached to clothing or worn as jewellery, are also now being produced in a bid to raise even more cash for Josh.
These toys will feature the dancing police officers’ likenesses and the makers have promised that every penny from the sales will go towards the fundraising total.
Josh now plans to fly to Cornwall to thank Sgt Watts and the team in person.
Watch the Falmouth Police Gangnam video here
