The winner of a Rhyl Journal firework competition donated his prize to the town’s annual Bonfire Night event on November 5 in memory of his son.

The prize of a spectacular War Lord firework combination was put up by self-storage company Lock Stock who sell fireworks from their Rhyl site on Marsh Road and at several of their other sites.

The winning entry belonged to John Deakin, of Spruce Avenue, Rhyl, who added it to the spectacular Rhyl show where an enthusiastic crowd enjoyed the display

John’s son Andrew was tragically killed in 2000 when the car he was driving was struck by a train on a level crossing without safety barriers in Porthmadog.

The 24-year-old was working as a sports coach at Clwb Chwaraeon Porthmadog and was also vice-captain of Prestatyn Cricket Club and a keen footballer.

His father said: “You never expect to win but I knew from the outset what I wanted to do if I did.

“As anyone who has lost a son or daughter will tell you it never goes away, it just gets more distant.

“There were so many people at the Bonfire Night in Rhyl and several of Andrew’s friends attended.

“I’m really grateful Lock Stock did the competition because it enabled me to use the prize to remember Andrew.

“One of his friends said that the bonfire and fireworks burned brightly but not as brightly as Andrew.

“It’s 18 years since we lost him and yet if you go to Prestatyn Cricket Club his peg is still there in the home team changing room with his name on it and painted black.

“They raised a lot of money to honour him and the Andrew Deakin memorial electric and remote control scoreboard is still in use and - to my knowledge - there are two benches there with his name on.”

Nick Powell, of Lock Stock Self-Storage, said: “We at Lock Stock are so happy that the winning entry drawn out was John’s and that it enabled him to pay tribute to the memory of a fine young man.”