It’s minus two degrees and 85-year-old John Shackleton is chopping logs in Starbeck.

John had a heart attack recently but neither that nor advancing years has stopped him doing what he has done for much of his life — helping others. He's one of Harrogate's most loved and admired citizens for his aid trips to desperate places. If ever anyone deserved an accolade, surely it's John.

He's now trying to raise about £20,000 for what will be his 50th trip driving an ambulance full of medical supplies. This time he will be heading to the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan to help Armenians displaced from their homes in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

John has talked about retiring more often than Elton John but here he is on a bitterly cold day toiling away outside some back street garages in sub-arctic Starbeck.

He says:

John mainly uses a chainsaw these days but can still wield an axe when required. When we met this week, it was almost too cold to hold a pen, nevermind an axe, yet he and helpers Adam Rawson and Mick Stokes were working up a sweat. The chopped wood has to be loaded into ton-bags and delivered to customers. John says:

The logs are sourced from his daughter's husband's farm in Summerbridge. "We are desperately short this year," he says.

So far he’s raised about £5,000 towards his latest target of £20,000. The main source of income for his trips is donations. Selling logs supplements it. John has also hit on a new way to raise money — doing trips to the tips in Harrogate for people who want to get rid of stuff. He says:

John and many of his helpers are members of St Robert's Church in Harrogate. They used to chop wood at a man called Pete the Pole's place in Burn Bridge, until he died. Now they operate out of council garages in Starbeck. John is resigned to eventually losing them but he's well connected and so well loved that he's usually able to find someone willing to help.

The usual procedure is to buy an ambulance, usually from Amsterdam, then fill it with medical supplies and drive it to wherever it's required before getting back to Harrogate however he can, usually with two co-drivers.

John has been doing this since his first mission in 1990 when he was moved by the plight of Romanians after the fall of Ceausescu.

'I have to be busy'

He also opened a design studio and sold wall plaques, one of which his daughter presented to President Jimmy Carter when he visited Washington in Tyne and Wear in 1977.

Eventually he fancied a change and went to night school to learn some practical skills and used what he learned to convert a house on Victoria Avenue into four flats. He has been converting properties ever since.

His first wife died suddenly 48 years ago and his second passed away last year. He has 10 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

John was up a tree with a chainsaw when he suffered a heart attack. Fortunately, he looks fit and robust now.

Besides doing this, he also collects bikes for Harrogate charity Resurrection Bikes, which brings old cycles back to life. He says:

You can donate to John's mission here. For details about tip trips, contact John at johnshackleton@aidtoeasterneurope.co.uk or call him on 01423871255.

Read more:

• 'Viability' issues continue to delay revival of Starbeck's Harper's building


• Amazon rom-com filmed in Harrogate to be released next month