A WIDOW is organising an auction to mark her late husband's birthday and raise money for the charity that helped her following his death.

Karen Green's husband, Daren, died suddenly eight years ago during an epileptic fit and she wants to organise the auction to mark what would have been his 40th birthday.

The event will be held at the David Lloyd Leisure Centre, in Garsington Road, Cowley, Oxford, on Monday, June 28, and Ms Green has persuaded former Oxford United player Peter Rhoades-Brown to act as auctioneer.

On the night she will be raising money for Sudden and Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (Sudep), based in Wantage, and Oxford hospices Helen and Douglas House.

Ms Green said: "Sudep were fantastic after Daren passed away. They did a lot to support the family and gave us lots of information.

"They are doing a lot to try to get epilepsy more recognised and change people's preconceptions of it."

Ms Green said that following the death of her husband she attended meetings held by the charity.

She said: "I had never heard of someone dying from it before, but when I spoke to people I found out it was more common than I thought."

Ms Green has already sold 150 tickets for the event and is appealing for businesses to donate items.

She said: "We have some things already and David Lloyd generously let us have the venue for free.

"We would still like to get some more things to auction off and there is also a raffle as well, so if people would like to donate prizes that would be great.

"We have also approached businesses to see if they will match what we raise on the night and we hope that will be about £4,000."

Mr Rhoades-Brown said: "They are both extremely deserving charities and I've been involved in fundraising for Helen House and Douglas House before.

"It was obviously a tragic way for Karen to lose her husband and I think it's a fantastic idea to celebrate what would have been his birthday in this way."

He joked: "We will have to wait until a little later in the evening until after people have had a few drinks before we start the auction!"

To donate items or to buy tickets send an email to karen@kmgreen.net