Villagers are being asked to offer support to one of Ruddington’s most famous residents – who is out of action again following an accident earlier this week.
Dave Bartram is back in the Queens Medical Centre with broken ribs and a suspected broken sternum after the incident – reported by Nottinghamshire Live on Friday to be a car crash in Ruddington last Monday. However that story has now been removed from their website – apparently amid uncertainty as to exactly what happened.
Regardless, it follows a run of bad luck for the 73 year old – now Nottingham’s last roaming “Cockle Man” – after two muggings and a shock bowel cancer diagnosis over the last two years. The second attack resulted in him needing a crutch to get around following a broken hip – but Dave pledged to continue on his daily rounds whilst ever he still could, saying: “I love meeting people, and being able to do my job”. His legendary status was confirmed last month when the VIP trader had one of Ruddington’s Nottingham City Transport Biogas Green 10 buses named after him!
Having sold prawns, cockles and mussels every day of the week since 1964, The Cockle Man has become a well-known figure on the streets – and in the pubs – of Nottingham, and has lived in Ruddington for almost twenty years, since losing his wife. In recent months he’s also become a regular trader at our monthly village market {top photo} and was even due to open this Saturday’s Ruddington Christmas Fayre.
He’s expected to remain in hospital to continue his recovery for a few more days. Dave told the Nottingham Post: “I’m losing too much business and I’m frightened I’m going to lose everything. I really want help over Christmas. I really want someone to help me and carry the basket for me.”
Nottingham culture and listings magazine LeftLion responded to his plight by launching a crowdfunding page on Just Giving “…raising £500 to help Dave ‘Cockle Man’ Bartram recover from his car crash.” You can find it >>HERE<<.
