A COUPLE whose son is being treated for Leukaemia have raised a staggering £35,000 for research into the condition, writes Becky Procter.

Rowena and Craig Bales, of Rowney Green, will be handing over half of the money to leukaemia research at Birmingham Children's Hospital today.

The rest of the money, which was raised after the couple completed the gruelling New York Marathon, will go towards the Leukaemia Research Fund.

Mother-of-three Mrs Bales, whose son Fraser, five, completes his third year of chemotherapy at the end of February, said she was delighted at the amount of money raised.

The 38-year-old said: "When we decided to take part in the marathon we hoped we might be able to raise up to £10,000 but the total has now reached £35,000.

"The money has come from work contacts, friends and family and people have just responded so well to it."

Mrs Bales said she would be spending more time with her family after a hard training schedule preparing for the marathon.

She said: "We will be doing half marathons and hope to compete in Stratford this coming April."

The money going to Birmingham Children's Hospital will be spent on specific research into bone marrow transplants.

Mrs Bales said: "Fraser definitely benefited from research that was done before he was diagnosed. There is a much greater chance of survival because of the research that has been done.

"And recovery rates over the past 10 years have increased substantially. However, there is still opportunity to improve things further."