Friends Fighting Cancer raise more than £2,500 at Hollyoaks football event at Fleetlands in Gosport

Friends Fighting Cancer charity held a football match on September 11 where Fleetlands Football Club played against the Hollyoaks team to raise money for cancer.

The charity was set up in 2008 and over the years has organised events that have raised more than £1m for charity. In 2019 they changed their name to Friends Fighting Cancer to show their growth during their life.

The charity supports local families, who are being affected by cancer, across the south of England which stretches across Chichester, Portsmouth, Bournemouth and the Isle of Wight.

The football event saw hundreds of people turn up at the Fleetlands FC ground to catch a glimpse at the well-known Hollyoaks stars and help support the cause and the charity managed to raise over £2,600.

The money that was raised during the event will go into a pot to be distributed to families who need small grants to assist them with costs associated with the condition.

Dan Swan, a volunteer for the charity, was impressed by the amount of money raised.

He said: ‘It was a great success. Obviously with everything that happened in the week, it was better than we thought with the turnout.

‘The charity itself makes a big difference in the area and the grants can be in people’s banks within two hours, so it is not a huge wait and we only have a couple people dealing with the grants so it is very private and dignified.’

The event started at 2pm and was ticketed on the door, costing £3 for children and cost adults £5 entry.

The match welcomed well-known actors from the show including Jamie Lomas who plays Warren and Jimmy Mckenna who plays Jack.

The event saw more than 500 people pass through the gates and witnessed a 2-1 win to Friends Fighting Cancer who were over the moon with the results of the day.

Jackie Wrapson, Fleetlands Football Club secretary, said: ‘It was absolutely fabulous.

‘We did a two-minute silence and the team wore black armbands, and then they sang Yellow by Coldplay to represent the charity which was a really lovely touch.’