The family of silver medalist Abby Kane have thanked Tommy the Clown for his fundraising efforts, and say he has gone the extra mile to support the teen sensation.
It comes in the same week that Tommy made a TV appearance on ITV's 'This Morning' defending the role of clowns, after he hit out at the frightening clown craze which has been sweeping America, and is now gaining coverage in the UK.
Tommy - hailed as a charity champion - has been a keen supporter of Abby Kane and has appeared at various summer festivals in Largs to help raise funds for Abby's trip to the Rio Paralympics, where she made headlines around the world to gain a silver medal, after just turning 13.
Abby's mum Karen said: "Tommy has been fantastic, and as a small token of appreciation, Abby gave him the medal she won in Berlin. We didn't go looking for Tommy's support, and for him to have spent of his time and effort wanting to help people is a real credit to him.
"We weren't aware that Tommy himself hadn't been very well. We would not have wanted him to go to all the extra effort, but he has gone and done it anyway, despite his own health being poorly, and for him to have raised £1000 is fantastic."
Karen added that Tommy had had a number of items and medals stolen over the years, so she was particularly pleased for Tommy to receive Abby's unique medal from Berlin.
And Tommy has vowed to carry on raising funds with his charity clown routine at local fetes and events, and help support Abby's brother Fraser, as he bids to compete in the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in Australia in cycling.
Asked for her own opinion on the creepy clown craze which has been gaining coverage around the country, Karen added: "It is quite frightening what has been happening in America - clowns do have quite a varied range of faces. Clowns have always been there for children's entertainment and kept people laughing all these years. "
Tommy, who describes himself as a happy clown, said: "I started as a clown in 1984, I was an orphan, and always in homes, and like to help young children with various charities, and they need all the help. I do a lot of runs including 10ks. I have just raised £1000 for Abby Kane, and that takes my overall total of fundraising to £190,000.
Asked about the killer clown craze, Tommy, who is a 75 year old grandfather from Greenock, said: "I think this is absolutely ridiculous - these people that do the funny faces don't realise how dangerous it is - the danger is if they frighten a child, and could give someone a heartache. The law needs to sort this out."
As well as Abby's family, Tommy The Clown even received words of support from Batman on ITV's 'This Morning' Garry Bedford is now dressing up as Batman in Cumbria, and has set up a hotline to reassure children who are scared of the creepy clown craze, and said: “Respect to Tommy and what he does, but there are a lot of people in this clown craze who are playing on a lot of minds.”