Olympian says shopkeeper deserves gold medal

Double Olympic gold medallist Matt Weston has said a Kent shopkeeper deserved one of his medals after helping raise more than £1.4m for National Lottery good causes.

The skeleton racer surprised Steve Weight at Borough Green Stores as part of a campaign recognising independent retailers across the UK.

Weight has run the shop near Sevenoaks for 32 years and generated the £1.4m through lottery ticket sales, where 23p of every pound spent on the draw goes to good causes.

Weston, who grew up in nearby Sevenoaks and benefited from funding through UK Sport's Elite Athletes programme, said it had been vital to his success.

"I should really give one of my gold medals to Steve," Weston said.

"I cannot overstate the importance of the funding I've received from the National Lottery, and shop owners like Steve deserve a huge amount of credit for their role in raising it. He really is a local hero."

Weight said the shop had been part of his life and the community for more than 30 years and the recognition was "incredibly special".

He said: "We know so many of our customers personally, and I'm proud that independent retailers like us play a part in helping raise money for good causes across the country."

During the visit, Weston and Weight visited Charlie's Angels Kitchens, a not-for-profit organisation which tackles food poverty and food waste.

The organisation has received £20,000 in National Lottery funding.

National Lottery operator Allwyn UK said independent retailers had raised more than £10bn for good causes since the lottery launched in 1994.

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