'˜Gunge' for boss

For he has volunteered to be “gunged” by the current Mayor of Bexhill, Jimmy Carroll, during an hour-long charity event starting at 3pm. Colleagues hope to raise at least £200 for the local branch of Britain’s leading learning disability charity, Mencap, by persuading customers to donate cash towards Mr Davey’s glutinous ordeal.

Store supervisor Joe Selby said: “We’ll be using genuine gunge, as seen on television programmes where a similar fate awaits competition contestants, for instance.

“Michael, who’s now 42, has served the Co-Op in Sidley man and boy, and is known to a great many people. “We hope they’ll come along and give generously to see him gunged.”