COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

An enraged man who bricked up a bank doorway is claiming he was inspired by the Coventry group The Recessionaires.



Cameron Hope, who was born in Radford, made the protest on a Barcalys Bank in Dorset, near where he now lives.

He bricked up the bank doorway, saying: "They are not lending at all at the moment, their charges have all gone up so they're all earning lots more money. It's not good enough and nobody's doing anything about it.

"So this is what made us protest."

To build on the publicity from the stunt, Hope set up a website and a Facebook page under the name The Recessionaires, which is a Coventry group set up in the 1980s.

Talking to BBC Coventry & Warwickshire Hope said: "The Recessionaires was born in Coventry and they had very good points, so I thought we'd use the the name and carry the name on. They were brave people who stood up to be counted and made a stand."

The Recessionaires

The Recessionaires started as a social and charity group founded in response to the recession of the 1980s. The small group of self-employed people turned socialising into fundraising for charity to try to beat the effects of the financial crisis.

The networking proved valuable for the businesses and led to charity events to raise thousands of pounds each year, so the group has continued to operate to the present day, often with the children of the original members continuing their work.

Bank bricking

In response to being hailed the inspiration for bricking up the bank doorway, Recessionaires member Peter Blackwell confirmed that the man behind the protest, Cameron Hope, attended some of the Recessionaires' events, but was never a member.

He said: "He was in Coventry for many years and used to run his own building firm, we all knew him but he wasn't a member of The Recessionaires."

Another member, Alan Griffiths, added: "We're a bit amazed by this but it's nice to get the publicity for our charity events. Maybe he should set up a Dorset branch of The Recessionaires for charity!"