THE brother of a teenager recently diagnosed with cancer has raised £1,500 for charity.

Immediately after hearing of the devastating news that 15-year-old Sorley Mosedale had contracted leukaemia, his brother Malin (12) got five of his schoolmates at Corbridge Middle School together to organise a six-hour cricket fund-raiser in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust.

With the strong support of close friend Toby Pilkington, the friends were joined by fellow Year 7 pupils Scarlett Coney, Hannah Skinner, Rosa Mallon and Martha Wells-Johnson in the fund-raiser, which resulted in a total of £1,475 being presented to the charity.

Tim and Anna, the parents of Sorley and Malin, have been touched by the support from the community since receiving the news at Easter, and they were delighted that cricket-mad Malin wanted to show support to his brother.

Tim said: “It feels like we have have so much support from across the school and the sports clubs as Sorley plays for Tynedale Rugby Club and football for Hexham Whites, and it shows how lucky we are to live in an area where people care and are supportive.

“We’re so proud that Malin wanted to do this, and it is a way of helping the people that are helping Sorley.”

Anna said: “Something like the Teenage Cancer Trust does a great job of making hospital wards like the one in the Royal Victoria Infirmary a nicer place for children, and you just realise we are lucky to have that on our doorsteps.

“You hope you never need it but you find out what an amazing place it is and how it’s all positive.”

Malin and his friends presented the cheque to Teenage Cancer Trust regional fund-raiser, Sonia Graham, during a whole school assembly at Corbridge on Monday afternoon.

Sonia said the charity was amazed at the amount raised by the school, and she said the money would be put to good use, caring for people with cancer between the ages of 13 and 24 in the North-East. She said: “That’s a fantastic amount to raise. At the moment, Teenage Cancer Trust doesn’t have enough specialist nurses, so this money will help us to reach more young people with cancer.”

Sorley’s friends at Hexham Football Club showed their support for the teenager before the recent West Division Youth U15 Cup final between Hexham Greens and Hexham Whites, with both teams wearing t-shirts with get well soon messages.