THE family of a teenage boy who died before Christmas have been touched by plans for a long-lasting memorial in his name.

In the space of 48 hours, more than £1,000 was raised to go towards a fire shelter for the 1st Hexham Scout Group in memory of Jack Cawood (16) who was found dead in his Hexham home in November.

Jack, a pupil at the town’s Queen Elizabeth High School, had been a keen member of the Cubs, Beavers and Scouts, and the organisation wanted to remember the popular teenager by building ‘Jack’s Shelter’ and accompanying decking area at the Scouts’ base behind Hexham General Hospital.

This week, Jack’s mother Selena said she was overwhelmed with the proposals.

She said: “The family is immensely touched by everyone’s kind efforts. Jack really loved his time in Beavers, Cubs and Scouts, and we are delighted Jack’s name will be linked to a place where other youngsters will have fun.

“Thank you very much to everyone involved.”

David Hefferin, the Scout leader at 1st Hexham Scouts Group, started the fund-raising campaign and said he was grateful to the community for supporting the project.

The shelter will allow the Scouts to enjoy more barbecues on site, and there are also plans for an accompanying picnic table.

Mr Hefferin said: “Jack was a member of the Beavers, Cubs and Scouts, and it hit everybody hard when he died. He was a wonderful lad and we have all been devastated by his death.

“Jack loved to cook and fires so that’s why we decided we wanted to create ‘Jack’s Shelter.’

“We feel it is a lovely way to remember Jack and it will be a great facility for many young people in the future.

“We put out a fund-raising appeal out on Facebook and I would emphasise that the Scout group has been staggered by the generosity of people donating. It just goes to show the love everybody had for Jack.

“We have been touched by the donations and want to take it as far as we can, so a huge thank you to everybody.”

The fund-raising target for the memorial shelter originally stood at £1,000 but the total was reached within two days. The new fund-raising goal has been set at £2,000 and the total raised currently sands at £1,500.

Excavation work at the site has already taken place. And building work on the shelter, which will have three walls and an open roof, is expected to start in the coming weeks.

Popular Queen Elizabeth pupil Jack was involved in various organisations outside of school and the Scouts, which included being a keen member of Tynedale Hockey Club.

In November, a coroner opened and adjourned an inquest into Jack’s death.