Boys on cue for appeal

A 24-hour snooker marathon by four players from the Newark Cue Club youth squad will raise money for the James Lilley Leukaemia Fund.

James (10) of Wolsey Road, Newark, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in May. He has chemotherapy twice a week.

James is raising money for Ward E38 at the Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, where he is being treated

Leon Munslow (14) of Gorse Road, Newark, said he had been thinking of doing a sponsored event after reading about James in the Advertiser.

Ben Weir (16) of Winthorpe Road, Newark, Ryan Barnsdale (12) of William Street, Newark, and Steven Hallsworth (12) of Lincoln, were all moved by James’ story and agreed to join Leon.

The owner of Newark Cue Club, Mr Julian Goodyear, has agreed to let the boys hold the event, which starts on Monday at noon, on the premises.

The boys, who are all tournament winners, have been planning the event for a month.

They will have two tables and will keep one game playing constantly throughout the 24 hours, playing an estimated 50 frames between them.

“We don’t want to stop,” said Ben.

“We’ll make sure that we have plenty of water, but we are really motivated to do this for James.”

The boys have been sponsored by friends and family. They hope to raise around £500 between them for the appeal.

The boys’ coach of 18 months, Mr Alan Tacey (53) of Albert Street, Newark, said: “I am extremely proud of them all.

“They have been motivated to raise this money for James themselves and it is really inspiring.”

Leon said they would all like to be involved in more sponsored events.

He said: “If we can get more club members involved, then we would even consider holding a 48-hour snooker marathon in the future.”

The James Lilley Leukaemia Fund now stands at £2,892.