A CHARITY set up in memory of two children killed in the Warrington town centre bombing 27 years ago has been saved from closure after a funding lifeline.

The Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Peace Foundation, which is based at the Peace Centre, was established after the deaths of 12-year-old Tim Parry and three-year-old Johnathan Ball in the IRA bombing in March 1993.

It helps at least 10,000 children a year, many of whom have been affected by terrorism, including the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017.

But a cash crisis, which was intensified by the current coronavirus situation, forced the Peace Foundation’s chief executive Nick Taylor to prepare to close the charity yesterday, Tuesday.

It would resulted in its crucial work with survivors of terrorism being forced to end.

However, the Steve Morgan Foundation stepped in with emergency funding totalling £37,000.

Nick said: “We’ve been running this charity for 25 years and this is the first time we’d hit a cash crisis like this.

“I was preparing to take the heartbreaking decision to close huge sections of the Peace Foundation when the Steve Morgan Foundation stepped in with £37,000 that will enable us to keep running our services for the next three months.

“We all got really emotional when we found out and the words ‘thank you’ seem inadequate in the circumstances.

Warrington Guardian:

“As a charity, we understand the impact of Covid-19 to the point that we took the decision to give over the Peace Centre to the NHS to house doctors and nurses who are currently treating coronavirus patients in local hospitals.

“Unfortunately, no help has been offered to the charity sector in this difficult and unprecedented time and we were left praying for a miracle.”

Tim Parry’s parents, Colin and Wendy, who set up the Peace Foundation, said the emergency funding was a ‘godsend’.

Wendy added: “It’s just over 27 years since Tim’s life machine was switched off.

“Every single day we miss him and think about all the wonderful things he has missed.

“The Peace Foundation has already helped thousands of people and, thanks to the Steve Morgan Foundation, we’ll be able to carry on with our life-changing work in Tim and Johnathan’s memory.”

Steve Morgan, founder of the Steve Morgan Foundation, says the charity was 'born out of tragedy' and has gone on to do 'so much good work'.

“It would have been dreadful if they’d not been able to carry on with the vital programmes they run,” he said.

He has pledged £1 million a week to charities in Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales to help some of the most vulnerable sectors of society cope with coronavirus – and he has called on others to follow suit.