Hull Trains is supporting a sculpture trail which will see six-foot tall rats across East Yorkshire raising money for the Daisy Appeal charity.
The company has partnered with the ‘Mischief of Rats’ exhibition, which will be installed in the summer of 2025, as a tribute to the Hull band ‘The Rats’. The rockers included guitarist Mick Ronson, who was also famously part of David Bowie’s ‘Spiders from Mars’.
The launch of the project coincided with the annual Humber Business Week. All proceeds will go towards The Daisy Appeal, a charity based at Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham, where it raises funds to help with the detection of cancer, heart disease and dementia.
Lou Mendham, Service Delivery Director at Hull Trains, said: “The Daisy Appeal is an inspirational charity and we’re very pleased to play a small part in supporting them providing cutting-edge research and state-of-the-art facilities. We are proud to be the first organisation to partner with this great project and looking forward to it being installed next year.”
Previous trails have attracted many thousands of extra visitors, who travelled to the city to see unique and colourful sculptures decorated by a wide variety of artists.
Rick Welton, Co-director of the project, said: “We’re thrilled that Hull Trains have come on board with this initiative. This is our most radical animal sculpture trail yet and we couldn’t do this without the support of brilliant local businesses.
“Our previous trails Puffins Galore, A Moth for Amy and Larkin Toads have raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity. We’re hoping for a repeat of that success when we auction off the rat sculptures at the end of 2025.”
Claire Levy, Fundraising Manager for the Daisy Appeal, said: “We’re excited that A Mischief of Rats will be raising substantial funds in such an imaginative and high-profile initiative. The auction proceeds will be vital to improve the life chances of patients living with cancer, heart disease and dementia in our region.”
Pat Coyle, Chair of Humber Business Week, said: “It was exciting to have the sculpture trail launched during Humber Business Week to celebrate the life and times of one of Hull’s great music legends, Mick Ronson.
“The support that Hull Trains have given to this remarkable project is a testament to their ongoing engagement with the cultural sector and highlights the importance for organisations to support local initiatives wherever they can.”
