YOUNG churchgoers in Bladon raised more than £2,000 for a charity set up in memory of an Abingdon five-year-old who battled a brain tumour.

Bladon Methodist Church’s younger members worked since the summer to raise money for Blue Skye Thinking.

It was established in memory of Skye Hall, who died in August after battling a brain tumour for a year.

He first appeared in the Oxford Mail in August after asking readers for help to achieve his final wishes before he died. He was buried at St Martin’s Church, Bladon.

Parents Andrew and Sally set up the charity to fund research into alternative treatments into childhood cancer after Skye was diagnosed with radio-chemo neurotoxicity.

It meant healthy cells in his brain and spinal cord were damaged by the traditional treatments of radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

On Sunday youngsters handed over a cheque for £2,102 to Mr Hall, 42, and Skye’s brother Jesse, three.

Group leader Alicia Rumsby said: “We felt it was a charity that was close to our hearts.

“Skye’s story really touched everybody with how courageous he was through it all. The way he dealt with his illness was amazing.”

Our top stories

The 40-year-old of Hempton, near Deddington, said: “The family used to live in Bladon and Skye is buried here. I know his mother and grandmother really well.

“We raised the money through shows and concerts. We put on a musical of Cats in October and we did a lot of carol singing at Christmas. At every event we collected for the charity.

“I am really proud of the junior church. Especially at Christmas they were really great. I would send out a text asking if people could carol sing the next night and they all really responded.”

Mr Hall said: “When we attended Bladon Junior Church on Sunday, we were made to feel so welcome.

“It is so heartening to see so many young people wanting to make a difference. Once again we have been humbled by the generosity of the Oxfordshire public.”

More than £87,000 has been donated to Blue Skye Thinking since the charity was set up in July.

It means the charity are half way to funding its first official researcher to work on frontline research. Cash has to be in place by May.

Mr Hall said: “We are still looking for ways local companies or individuals can offer their own fundraising ideas to help us reach our target of £120,000.”

  • Do you want alerts delivered straight to your phone via our WhatsApp service? Text NEWS or SPORT or NEWS AND SPORT, depending on which services you want, and your full name to 07767 417704. Save our number into your phone’s contacts as Oxford Mail WhatsApp and ensure you have WhatsApp installed.