|
Gordon Hewitt, a penny-pinching eccentric who used to read his paper in his car to save electricity, has left behind a £250,000 fortune after a lifetime of scrimping. To a casual observer Mr Hewitt, who died 14 months ago, may have appeared virtually destitute in his trademark duffel coat, ill-fitting trousers and canvas pumps, as he sold newspapers on the streets. But in reality twice-married Mr Hewitt, who lived in the same house all his life, had a quarter-of-a-million pounds located in at least 20 savings and investment schemes, which he has left to six different people. Former neighbours of Mr Hewitt's in Huddersfield, West Yorks., told how he used to save money by reading the paper in his Reliant Robin so he didn't have to turn on the light in his house, and wore his clothes wet rather than using his tumble dryer. They recalled his obsessive approach to saving money - including never putting the heating on, eating for free at churches and relying on the same duffel coat for years. Friend and neighbour Jean Buckley, 68, remembered his obsessively thrifty ways which even included him helping out at a soup kitchen just for the free soup and calling into churches for the warmth. "He used to sit in his Reliant Robin reading a newspaper with the light on so he didn't have to turn the light on in the house. He was just a character. "He'd do anything to get warm, walk miles to find somewhere warm to sit even walking through the rain in his pumps to find somewhere. | 
