Ben Wallis 'Wallace & Gromit' fundraiser supported by Helston

Ben Wallis,14, whose dad Shaun was born and raised in Helston, was diagnosed with both a brain tumour and a rare disease called Langerhans cell histiocytosis which had caused a second tumour at the back of his head.

Ben's family decided that they would start a fundraiser for the Bristol Children's Hospital Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Appeal, that funds pioneering, life-saving equipment and research, as well as The Starfish Appeal at the Royal Devon & Exeter hospital, who are raising money for a new children’s outpatient area.

The family planned on walking 350 miles during February but have actually smashed their original target and are currently on 445 miles with a week still left to go.

Currently, the family have raised over £7,000 for The Grand Appeal and over £2,000 for the Starfish Appeal, and with time still left things are looking set to raise those totals even more.

Shaun said: "It's been way beyond our expectations.

"The last time we did fundraising it was on a form when the kids would come back from school and you'd put a couple of quid in and it would go back to them with about £30.

"Now that fundraising is online it just takes off, it moves through social media and sharing points and suddenly you're up to thousands rather than a couple of hundred pounds.

"Because it was on social media and we're still friends with people from school and people that live in the local area, loads of people I hadn't spoken to in years sent me a quick message saying how are things and a lot of people from Helston put in a lot of money."

The family planned on walking 350 miles during February but have actually smashed their original target and are currently on 445 miles with a week still left to go. (Credit: Shaun Wallis)

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Ben still has a tumour by his front temporal lobe and is currently on a 'watch and wait' regime - which monitors any changing of size or shape and how it affects him - due to the risk of interfering with it.

However, Ben is doing physically and mentally very well.

Shaun said: "He's fantastic at the moment, he's well, active, enjoying school and his friendship groups and shows no adverse effects, which is why the tumour is going to remain there, for now.

"It has had a minor impact on his life, he's a big fan of rugby, loves both playing and watching, but because of the risk of contact and blows to his head that's had to be banned from the off.

"There's been no complaints about it, it's just difficult when he wants to play."

Shaun and his wife Kate also wanted to say a very big thank you to those that have helped.

Shaun added: "It's been lovely, both the support that we've received directly through the fundraising and also the messages of support that have been sent through, it's been really nice.

If you would like to donate to The Wallis family’s fundraiser, please visit the Facebook page: The Wallis family’s fundraiser for Bristol Children’s Hospital