A boss of a property firm who launched a sale of his Ferrari to raise money for the NHS has withdrawn the raffle.

Eastern Daily Press: Mr Henry's Ferrari. Pic: Justin HenryMr Henry's Ferrari. Pic: Justin Henry

Justin Henry, who runs Norfolk Barns Ltd near Norwich, said he had decided to stop the fundraiser because of so much negative feedback on social media.

MORE: Norwich Airport to bring in fever detection of passengers in fight against coronavirus

He was offering people the chance to enter a draw making an £8 donation with one winner getting the red 458 Ferrari Spider and with money also going to the NHS Heroes fund. A reserve on the fundraising meant the charity stood to get more than £250,000. The scheme was approved under strict competition rules and was being operated by an independent adjudicator called PromoVeritas.

But because Mr Henry was not giving away the car which he bought six weeks ago, but wanted to recoup some of the money he’d paid for it out of the money raised, the scheme backfired and he received a barrage of negative reaction.

He told this newspaper: “Due to the negative comments and feedback, I am sad to say that we have decided to stop our fundraiser. I do not need to sell my car and it was never my intention to do so, I just thought that this was an awesome idea with the potential to raise a huge amount of money to support front line NHS staff.??

“Thank you to everyone who has supported and donated, I will ensure that you will be refunded. Heroes is an awesome charity which is supporting the front line directly.”

For more updates on coronavirus in Norfolk see the Facebook page here