Pub regulars raise £1,000 for Melton boy with spinal cancer

Regulars at a Melton pub have raised £1,000 for a schoolboy suffering from spinal cancer.
By The Newsroom
Published 9th Jul 2018, 11:29 BST
Updated 17th Jul 2018, 18:44 BST
Regulars pictured after their charity head shaves at The Grapes pub in Melton EMN-180907-101841001Regulars pictured after their charity head shaves at The Grapes pub in Melton EMN-180907-101841001
Regulars pictured after their charity head shaves at The Grapes pub in Melton EMN-180907-101841001

More than £600 came from people being sponsored to have their heads shaved at The Grapes and the remainder was generated by a raffle of prizes donated by local businesses.

Some of the cash paid for a freestyle footballer to visit 12-year-old William Billingsley at a party at his Melton home to celebrate the end of his chemotherapy treatment.

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We reported last year how neighbours and traders rallied around William by working to level the family’s back garden so he could use it more easily in the wheelchair he is now confined to.

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Rachel Piwek pictured before her charity head shave at The Grapes pub in Melton EMN-180907-101831001Rachel Piwek pictured before her charity head shave at The Grapes pub in Melton EMN-180907-101831001
Rachel Piwek pictured before her charity head shave at The Grapes pub in Melton EMN-180907-101831001

And last Christmas, staff at Melton’s Poundland store put together a special advent calendar for the youngster after hearing he was unable to eat chocolate because his treatment made it taste horrible.

The fundraiser at The Grapes came about because William was finishing his chemotherapy treatment last week and celebrating his birthday on Friday.

Regular Rachel Pivek volunteered to have her long blonde hair cut off to leave her with just a crew cut.

“I hate how it looks now,” she chuckled.

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Rachel Piwek pictured after her charity head shave at The Grapes pub in Melton EMN-180907-101807001Rachel Piwek pictured after her charity head shave at The Grapes pub in Melton EMN-180907-101807001
Rachel Piwek pictured after her charity head shave at The Grapes pub in Melton EMN-180907-101807001

“I’m going to grow it straight back because I don’t want to look like a GI girl.

“It was in a great cause, though, and I was happy to help William.

“The Grapes is a real community pub and when Sharon Brown, the landlady, suggested the idea we all went along with it.

“Six of us had our heads shaved and we raised lots of money too from the raffle.”

The landlady’s daughter, Natasha Patridge, also plans to have her head shaved next month to increase the funds for William - you can sponsor her by visiting the pub.

Related topics:Melton