A MYSTERY benefactor has left £20,000 to a Bolton charity in his will.

Ian Casson, who was originally from Blackburn, but lived in Devon at the time of his death in November last year, bequeathed the money to Bolton Mountain Rescue Team.

The donation left volunteers puzzled as no one in the team knew of Mr Casson or anything about him. Team leader Garry Rhodes was notified by Stephens Solicitors in Devon that Mr Casson had left the group the money.

But there were no details, the team has.

Mr Rhodes said: “We were really surprised; we’re still trying to figure out who this man is.

“My first thought when I heard about the donation was ‘why is this person supporting us, who is he and what is his connection to us?’ “It would be nice if we could find out from someone who he was and why he donated such a large sum of money.”

Bolton Mountain Rescue Team collected more than £2,000 from their collection boxes in the last year.

The team has 123 collection boxes in the area, bringing in £2,066. The money was slightly down compared to the previous year, but two of the collection boxes were stolen over the summer and the cash never recovered.

The charity is trying to increase its number of collection boxes to 150 and is appealing for help in achieving this.

Anyone who would like to host a collection should visit boltonmrt.org.uk.

Anyone who knew Mr Casson or knows anything about his bequest is asked to email tl@boltonmrt.org.uk.