A YOUNG boy from Worcester who was struck down by meningitis has inspired his father to raise hundreds of pounds for a worthy cause

A music event to be held next month will raise even more money for the Meningitis Trust after a football tournament brought in £500. Two bands, Medford and Setting Suns, a Jam tribute act, are to play at Archdales club in Windermere Drive, Warn-don, Worcester. The concert is being organised by Gary Gardner, of Randwick Drive, Warndon, whose three-year-old son Luke contracted meningitis at the age of eight months.

Mr Gardner said: "We want to raise awareness as much as anything. "When Luke was ill we were on holiday and had to call an ambulance out in the middle of the night when he was screaming. "We didn't know what was wrong with him until he was diagnosed at the hospital." Luke made a full recovery and suffered no long-term effects.

Tickets for the night, on Saturday, September 17, at 8pm, cost £5 and are available from Mr Gardner on 07951 477047. More than £500 has already been raised thanks to a charity five-a-side football tournament held in Warndon. More than 300 people turned up to the tournament, which consisted of 16 teams.

Simon Birbeck, a youth development officer in Warndon, said: "This event really brought the community together to raise money and awareness of meningitis after it affected this young lad."