A LOCAL businessman who takes holidaymakers from Devon on scenic coach tours all over Britain has donated money raised from ‘souvenir raffles’ to two local charities.

Michael Scutt, from Sourton, went in person to Okehampton last Friday (January 3) to present £500 each – in cash – to Hospiscare and the Devon Air Ambulance Trust, calling in at each charity’s shop in the town.

This money represents the proceeds of the raffles which Michael has run on his Viewfinders Tours over the past year.

It has been a sad year for him, as he lost his wife Janet in March 2024. She ran the business with him and on every coach tour the couple ran, they would collect souvenirs from each place they visited, to raffle on the return journey and donate the money to charity.

This year there was a pause in the tours after Janet died, but Michael has still raised a significant amount to help his chosen charities.

‘Because Janet hasn’t been here, I have had to do it all myself but I have carried it on. She died suddenly, unexpectedly. She had cancer. I’m carrying on because she would want me to,” he said.

Michael used to drive school buses but in 1991 decided to launch his own coach tour business, feeling it would offer more scope for adventure. It became Viewfinder Tours in 1995.

“We have been all over England, Wales and Scotland, to the Highlands, the Lake District, John O’Groats, the whole lot. This past year, one of the tours was to Fort William in the north of Scotland.

“I used to drive the coach until five years ago. Now we use coaches from Tamar Coaches in Plymouth with a driver and I sit back and tell the driver where to go!”