KING KONG came to Guernsey at the weekend. Jimmy Ozanne was chained to the lighthouse at the end of the Castle Breakwater – dressed as a gorilla.

But the monkey business was in aid of charity – he was raising money for the Guernsey Cheshire Home, where he works as a care assistant.

‘I fancied doing something a bit different,’ he said.

‘We have done various other charity events, but I wanted to go that extra mile.’

The 32-year-old, who has worked at the home for three years, said he originally considered being chained to a building but said it was his colleague, Tanya Russell, who gave him the idea of doing it in fancy dress.

‘She thought a gorilla suit would keep me warm, but I have to admit it didn’t. I was so cold.’

He was chained up on the west side of the light at 9pm on Saturday and remained there for 24 hours, with support from friends and colleagues. His temperature was checked throughout the night, which became very cold.

‘When I first got here it was like a millpond, but not long after midnight there were gale-force winds and it was really cold – the conditions were horrendous.’

But he was not alone. Miss Russell was by his side throughout the night.

‘The night went quite fast, but I found the early hours of the morning dragged.

‘There were even a couple of fishermen who kept me company as well,’ he said.

Another colleague, Colette Doherty, joined him at 5am with some breakfast and stayed until the end.

‘I brought down some bacon rolls and some coffee,’ she said.

‘And head of home Marlene Place insisted I bring some porridge down for him.

‘I think it’s amazing what he has done and this is the third charity event in as many weeks he has taken part in. He is always willing to go that extra yard and I think he is very brave.’

Many people visited Mr Ozanne throughout yesterday, several giving donations. He estimated that he had raised more than £2,000.

‘I’ve had a lot of support from my work to do this too,’ he said.

And the highlight of his quest was being visited by residents.

‘I’m so chuffed they came to see me,’ he said.

Mrs Doherty added: ‘It shows they care for him as much as he cares for them.’

One of the residents, Gavin Marsh, said: ‘It was great for the home, a good cause and an original idea.

‘And I think we should leave him here for another day,’ he joked.

‘He is a great bloke.’

After his long stretch, Mr Ozanne said he was looking forward to going home.

‘My feet are cold and I just want to go home and have a hot bath and a Chinese takeaway.

‘The support and motivation that I received from everyone was what kept me going and I want to thank them all.

‘I would definitely do this again. And I’ve got to say the amount of bananas I was given made me laugh.’