A street cleaner from Beckenham who was denied a holiday by his employer that had been fundraised by his community, has won an On the Beach “competition” for a free holiday to Portugal.

Paul Spiers has spent years keeping Beckenham’s streets spotless while bringing joy to the community with his cheerful demeanour and playing the music of Elvis from his portable speaker.

Recently, he became the focus of a community fundraiser, as residents and local businesses united to fund his long-awaited return to Portugal.

The campaign, which has now raised over £3,000, underscores how much Spiers is valued in the community.

However, in a letter to Bromley Council, Beckenham and Penge MP Liam Conlon revealed that contractor Veolia has informed Paul he cannot accept the gift due to contractual obligations with the council.

A spokesperson for Veolia confirmed that it does not “permit its staff” to accept any monies or incentives outside of agreed pay structures.

A spokesperson added: “We have agreed with Paul that we will match the amount raised as of Friday 9th August to be donated to a charity of his choice.”

Holiday provider On the Beach has since confirmed that Paul, 63, has landed himself a holiday in a competition launched by the package holiday company.

On the Beach launched the competition this morning (August 13), and fortunately for Paul, the terms and conditions were “extremely specific”.

A spokesperson for On the Beach said: “The competition stated that, to win, you must love Elvis, be between the ages of 62 and 64, have a surname of Spiers, be a street cleaner in Beckenham and be loved by your local community.”

Paul, out of the millions of people living in the UK, was the only one to fit the terms of the competition, meaning he has secured a £3,000 On the Beach holiday to Portugal.

Zoe Harris, chief customer officer at On the Beach said: “Congratulations Paul! Who would have thought that just a day after he was denied a holiday, he would win one in a competition! What are the odds?

“We’re all for the fundraised money going to charity, but everyone deserves a holiday, it’s one of those moments that we dream of all year round. We know how much Paul dreamed of going to Portugal again and so for him to win the competition is fantastic.”

The competition win now means Paul, who has been cleaning the roads of Beckenham in south-east London since 2017 has secured a £3,000 On the Beach holiday voucher.

It was only recently when Paul told Lisa he'd only been abroad once, to Portugal, and that he dreamed of visiting again, a fundraising campaign was set up to help the humble cleaner enjoy a well-earned break.

“Our holidays to Portugal start from as little as £199pp so we can’t wait to see how far the voucher will take Paul, we hope that he has the holiday of a lifetime, a well-deserved one too!”

Paul is encouraged to contact On the Beach directly to claim his holiday voucher, where colleagues will be “more than happy” to help book him his dream holiday.

A spokesperson for Veolia said: "We are truly grateful for the support and recognition shown by the community to Paul, who alongside a hardworking street cleansing team, does a fantastic job keeping Bromley's streets clean.

“We are always happy to hear from members of the public who want to recognise our teams.

“Unfortunately, on this occasion, we were not made aware of the fundraising and were therefore unable to work together to find the most appropriate way to recognise Paul.

“Our contract with Bromley Council does not permit our staff to accept any monies or incentives outside of agreed pay structures.

“We have agreed with Paul that we will match the amount raised as of Friday 9th August to be donated to a charity of his choice.

“Veolia has a number of recognition schemes across the UK that reward our colleagues for exceptional services to the community and Paul will be the recipient of Bromley’s Employee of the Quarter - an internal financial reward to recognise his hard work and dedication."