Over £4,000 pledged towards celebrity cat's treatment after his accident

* Over £4,000 has been pledged to help pay for Raymond's treatment.

UPDATE FROM HIS OWNER AROUND 9AM:

"Just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has donated towards rays vet bills people have been so so kind and generous. 

"Just been to see him and cried 😭 

"Just waiting to see if he will be going for a CT scan today."

Just over £4,000 has been pledged by hundreds of well-wishers to help pay for treatment to Llangollen's celebrity cat after he was accidentally hit and injured by a car two days ago.

The famous moggy, who has his own Facebook page - Raymond the Ginger Cat - is known and loved by scores of admirers for his wanderings around the town, nipping in and out of shops and hotels and even attending a church service on Christmas morning. 

On Sunday there was an outpouring of shock and disbelief after it was announced on Facebook that he had been hit by a car in the town centre while being chased by a dog. 

Scores of messages of sympathy for his family and best wishes for his speedy recovery began to be posted on social media. 

And there was been a surge of donations to an online funding account set up by a friend to help pay for his treatment. 

The owner took to Facebook on Raymond's page to say his pelvis had been injured on the left side and the bill for treatment was likely to be between four and five thousand pounds, adding that they would pay although and donations would be welcome.

Since then pledges to the Gofundme page have been mounting rapidly and by yesterday afternoon had gone over the £4,000 mark.

The page now displays a note to say the organiser has disabled new donations to the fundraiser "at the moment".

On Monday morning the cat's owner posted on Raymond's page that he was "comfortable and pain free," and they were waiting to hear when he would have surgery. 

* Llanblogger will bring you further updates on Raymond's progress as and when we have them. 

Raymond the celebrity cat receives treatment after serious road injury

 

* Raymond pictured on his own Facebook page by his owner after the accident.

UPDATE FROM HIS OWNER MONDAY MORNING: 

"He’s comfortable and pain free. Waiting to hear when he will go for surgery either today or tomorrow."

Llangollen’s celebrity cat is receiving treatment at the vets after being accidentally hit by a car. 

And an online funding page has been set up to pay for the surgery he needs.

The famous moggy, who has his own Facebook page - Raymond the Ginger Cat - is known and loved by scores of admirers for his wanderings around the town, nipping in and out of shops and hotels and even attending a church service on Christmas morning. 

Yesterday (Sunday) afternoon there was an outpouring of shock and disbelief after it was announced on Facebook that he had been hit by a car in the town centre while being chased by a dog. 

Within the hour there was over a hundred messages of sympathy for his family and best wishes for his speedy recovery. 

The comments have continued to flood in overnight, some posted from as far away as Wiltshire, Cardiff and Sheffield. 

There was also s surge of donations to an online funding account has been set up to help pay for his treatment. 

Shortly after the news broke Raymond’s owner gave details of what had happened to the cat on Facebook. 

They said: “Raymond’s been hit by a car. I don’t know who hit him or why they wouldn’t stop.

“We have taken him to the vets and his vitals are all good but he can’t stand and looks like he might of broken his back legs. He’s gone for X-rays now so will let you know how he is as soon as we know." 

A little later they posted again, saying: “UPDATE. He has fractured his pelvis on the left side. They’re keeping him in tonight.” 

The owner added: “Also, would just like to put that apparently the driver did stop and look for him which I am grateful for, Raymond’s usually good with roads but obviously he’s been chased and ran out scared. Which isn’t the drivers fault."

A friend of the owner then set up a Gofundme page to help meet the bill for

Raymond's treatment.

She says on the page: "Unfortunately the famous Raymond the Ginger Cat (who is a celebrity in Llangollen) was accidentally hit by a car on 29/12/24. Some kind person took him in, and the owners (my friend) got to him quickly and took him to an emergency vets.

"This quirky, cheeky little cat is in and out of shops, goes to supermarkets, local pubs and even to church this Christmas! He’s a well known, funny little character in our home town, and his adventures and antics are documented and loved by many far and wide.

"He has broken his pelvis and if anyone could help this little chap have the operation he needs and get back to his little adventures, we’d be so grateful. Even the smallest amount.

"We all wish Mr Raymond the speediest recovery!"

At around 6am this morning (Monday) Raymond's owner posted a further update which says: "Thank you all for your kind words and support for Raymond. He’s always been street smart but unfortunately yesterday he was scared by a dog in to a passing car my poor little man got hit and fractured his pelvis on the left hand side surgery is going to be around 4-5k which we will pay, but any donations would be amazing my friend has set up a go fund me page so if Ray's ever brought any joy in to your life a small donation would be much appreciated no matter how small."

* The Gofundme page can be found at: https://gofund.me/3eea2e10

* Llanblogger will bring you further updates on Raymond's progress as and when we have them. 

Llangollen makes newspaper's list of Wales's best winter walks

Llangollen features in a list of winter walks in Wales "to blow away the Christmas cobwebs" produced by a Welsh national newspaper.

* For the full story in Wales Online, see: 25 winter walks in Wales to blow away the Christmas cobwebs - Wales Online

Neighbourhood Watch warns about QR code scam

North Wales Community Alert has issued a warning about a seasonal scam which last year cost its victims over three-quarters of a million pounds.

Neighbourhood Watch says: "Cyber Criminals are using QR technology to scam victims.

"They create their own malicious QR codes designed to trick people into sharing their banking or personal information. Victims are tricked into believing that they are navigating to legitimate sites.

"Last festive season, over £764,000 was lost to QR fraud.

"Stay safe this Christmas— stop and think before clicking a link or scanning a QR code. If you receive an email with a QR code use caution - it could be a scam.

"If unsure - open the website address that you need to visit in a fresh browser rather than navigating there via the QR code. This will help to keep your data safe.

"Read about how someone fell victim to fraudsters in railway station QR code scam here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-67335952

#NWPCyberSafe #12Frauds

llanblogger wishes everyone a very Merry Christmas!

lanblogger wishes everyone a very Merry Christmas

Christmas Festival raffle winners announced

* The parade which launched this year's Christmas Festival.

The draw for the raffle at this year's Llangollen Christmas Festival has taken place and all winners have been notified. 

A spokesperson for the organisers said: "Thanks to everyone who bought tickets for the raffle. We had a tremendous response and managed to sell 4,000 tickets. We made £4,000 which we will share with Wales Air Ambulance, local groups and next year’s Christmas Festival.

"Thank you to our sponsors and the local shops, traders and businesses for donating prizes. A special thank you to Ian Parry and Jane Williams for organising the raffle and the fantastic ticket-selling skills of the members of the Christmas Festival Group and their friends."

Here is list of prizes and winning tickets:

01069                  Five days fishing on the River Dee

02680                 Voucher For Dee Valley Produce 0

03566                  Voucher for  Jades Hair Stylist

02655                   A bottle of Scotch from the Liberty Tavern

00985                  A food hamper from the Llangollen Oggie Shop

01385                 A flight for three people in a light aircraft

00358                  A flight in a glider

1728                   Whitewater rafting for two people

02222                 Family ticket for Llangollen railway

02201                   Family tickets for a canal boat trip

05070                 Trip in a  Tuk-Tuk

01166                 Voucher for bike hire from Drozi  Bikes

00024                 Voucher for the Bridge End

02538                 Pair of tickets for the Llangollen Comedy Club

03376                 £200 worth of food vouchers

00665                 Laura’s Tearoom Llangollen voucher

04041                 2 course meal for two at The Cornmill Llangollen

01062                 Voucher for a meal at the Sun Trevor

02720                   2 tickets for Llangollen Eistedfodd

03654                 Voucher for Riverbanc in Llangollen

05056                 Round of golf for two in Llangollen

00469                 Afternoon tea at the Wild Pheasant

01124                 Knitted dolls from Homemade Llangollen

01481                 Voucher for Foozies

00906                 Toy from Shop in the Clouds

00880                 Massage from Sue Walker “The Verve”

02192                 2 bottles of wine from Gales Wine Bar

01873                 Candle from Lily Rose Interiors

04117                 Christmas wreath Eistedfodd Floral Committee

00902                 2 tickets for Garden Railway Show

00293                 Voucher for Porters Delicatessen

00581                 Coffee from Chapel Street Coffee Company

Warning about thefts of Christmas parcels from doorsteps

* Warning: Sam Rowlands MS.

Sam Rowlands, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, is warning constituents about the increase in thefts of parcels left on doorsteps. 

Mr Rowlands is backing a call from North Wales Police who have issued advice to reduce the risk of doorstep theft.

 

He said: “Noth Wales Police have received a number of reports about the increase in thefts from doorsteps in recent weeks and have issued a timely reminder to us all.

 

“Unfortunately there are unscrupulous people out there who will be on the lookout for unattended parcels.

 

“In the run up to Christmas it is especially important that if you are expecting a delivery make sure you take the necessary precautions so that a loved one’s present is not taken from your doorstep.”

 

North Wales Police have issued some advice to make sure you don’t become a victim of crime this festive season.

 

To reduce the risk of doorstep theft:

1. Track your parcel to ensure someone is at home for the delivery.
2. If you are not going to be in, provide the delivery company with details of a safe location to leave your parcel.
3. Arrange a delivery time if possible when you know someone will be home to take the parcel.
4. Consider installing a ring doorbell; this can be connected to your mobile phone so you are notified immediately of any delivery and is easier and more affordable than CCTV systems.
5. Install security lighting. 
6. Arrange for you parcel to be delivered to a trusted neighbour, family or friend.
7. Use an off-site locker service for frequent deliveries or for expensive items, these parcel boxes are more likely to be in safer locations such as supermarkets, petrol forecourts etc.