A young businessman has been fixing elderly people’s broken fences for free after hearing many were choosing between paying for a secure fence or whether to heat their homes.

Jon Horne, 22, first started offering the service after visiting a woman in the West Midlands, where he works, whose fence had blown down in bad weather.

‘She was quite distressed and worried about the security at her home,’ Jon wrote on Facebook.

Jon with Pat, whose fence he repaired for free in recent stormy weather (Picture: Triangle News/Jon Horne)

He went round within the hour and fixed it that same day, telling the lady she owed him nothing for the service.


‘She had explained how she struggled to keep on top of her bills but the fence repair was a must,’ he said.

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‘I can’t believe some of the older generation are in a situation where they have to decide whether to be warm or in this case, have a secure fence.’



Jon set up his company, JD Property Services, at 17 when he first noticed elderly people being ‘ripped off’ by rogue traders over charging for simple jobs.

He recently met a WWII veteran who was quoted three times more than he should have been for a job, and he even had to stop his own grandmother from being scammed, he said.

Now he wants to continue fixing fences for senior citizens for free throughout the winter period if they are in need.

After his original Facebook post, he was inundated with thousands of messages of support and requests for help.

Jon Horne with one of his oldest’s customers helped through the free winter scheme (Picture: Triangle News/Jon Horne)

He later added: ‘I’m only 22. I don’t own a house, I’m not rich so don’t get confused but I was once told, if you’ve got enough money to put food on the table, pay your bills and still have enough for a pint in the pub you’re a lot better off than many.

‘So I’m happy to help where I can, and when I’m elderly I hope there are companies who can do the same.’

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Jon has now started Crowdfunding so he can buy materials and pay more tradespeople to help out with the free winter service.

He has so far managed to raise more than £2,000, but said that even without people’s donations he will still continue the scheme.

‘We would love to help everyone who has messaged us but it’s physically impossible. Without donations towards our costs, I am limited to the [number of] people I can help.

‘Even if we don’t receive any donations, I still strive to help at least eight to 12 elderly [people] per month.”

Jon set up JD Property Services at the age of 17 (Picture: Triangle News/Jon Horne)

People have been praising Mr Horne’s efforts, with one woman writing: ‘I wish there were more people like you in this world.’

Workers have also been in touch to offer their services for free.

Carpenter Ben Eidukas said: ‘I am a carpenter and would like to help when I can.

‘I am very busy with home renovation as well as work at the moment but please contact me if you are doing a free repair and if I can come and help, I will.’

Another man said Jon was a ‘true gentleman’.

You can find Jon’s GoFundMe page here.

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