A Chew Valley family found light in the darkness by realising a 20-year-old’s vision to help homeless people after he died while on holiday.

Billy Abernethy-Hope’s idea was so simple everyone wondered why it had not been done before – a token that can be exchanged for a hot or cold drink, so people do not have to fear they are funding a drug habit or unscrupulous begging.

His family had wanted to launch the scheme in Bath, but were warned against it after a charity boss downplayed the scale of homelessness in the city, so they took the Billy Chips to Bristol.

Four months on, there are 2,000 ceramic tokens bearing Billy’s smiling face in circula- tion, and a £150,000 fundraiser has just begun so they can be rolled out across the country.

Billy’s sister, Meg Abernethy-Hope, who started the Billy Chip Foundation with their father, Jon Hope, said: “A lot of people are anxious about giving money to homeless people. They don’t want to feed a drug habit.

“The Billy Chip is a safer way to do it. People were shocked at its simplicity and the fact it’s never been done before.

“The response has been re- ally positive. We’ve had hairdressers and launderettes that want to get involved.

“We’re in talks with some really big companies. We’ve had international interest from across five continents. Homelessness is a global issue.

“We’ve had businesses across the country that want to get on board. As soon as we get the distribution in place, we will get chips to them.

“We are not trying to discourage people from giving change – we’re trying to encourage people who wouldn’t try to help.

“People are stopping and talking to rough sleepers. They aren’t just being given the leftovers out of people’s pockets.

“Bristol is such a hub for supporting new ideas coming through. Bath seems to come in once it knows something works.

Ambulance driver, Billy, had the idea after asking Jon why he brought his change home rather than giving it to someone on the street.

Meg said: “Jon said he was worried about enabling an addiction and he didn’t have time to ask if they wanted a tea or coffee.

“Billy just said, why doesn’t someone come up with a token scheme?”

His sister said that would probably have been the last anyone heard of it if Billy was still alive. He died in a freak accident while riding a motor-bike in Thailand in March 2018.

Meg said: “We’d just had the hardest days of our lives. We needed something positive to focus on.

“It’s taken off so much quicker than we ever thought. It’s Billy’s legacy.

“He was kind and generous but I don’t think he would have done this. He’d think we were nuts for doing it, but he’d be really proud. Out of grief and darkness there was light.

“Billy was born and died in March. It’s an emotional time for us. This month, we’re aiming to raise £150,000 to roll the scheme out to 500 stores nationwide.”

There are fifty outlets signed up around the West of England and as far away as Oxford, but so far only three are in Bath – Cascara in Upper Borough Walls, Picnic Coffee in Saracen Walk and Picnic in the Park in Lark Place. They all accept and sell

the chips for £2 each.

Visit: www.gofundme.com /f/billy-chip-march-fundraiser to support the fundraiser or: www.billychip.com/ to learn more about the foundation.

Stephen Sumner, LDRS