A FAMILY who set themselves a fundraising target of £10,000 in memory of a ten-year-old boy have nearly reached their goal five months ahead of schedule.

Jan and Baz Burns, from Larkhill, were devastated when their son Charlie died a year ago today from Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP), and they and their daughter Izzie decided to raise money for charity in his honour.

They chose to support Epilepsy Bereaved, a small charity committed to preventing SUDEP and other epilepsy deaths through research, awareness and influencing change.

Friends, family and supporters rallied around, and they are expecting to hit the £10,000 mark by the end of the month.

Mrs Burns said: “As a family we have tried to channel our grief in the hope that something positive could come out of such an awful situation.

“The support we have received has been extremely humbling and we would like to thank every individual and organisation that has made this possible from the bottom of our hearts.”

The family has been invited to speak at Epilepsy Bereaved’s annual conference in November, along with their local MP Claire Perry, who has supported them and agreed to discuss how the government can help raise the profile of SUDEP.

They are also holding abag packing day at Tesco in Amesbury on November 30 and are looking for volunteers to give up an hour of their time between 10am and 5pm.

They already have a team of runners signed up for the Great North Run next September and want to organise a Picnic in the Park event next summer.

Anyone interested in getting involved with fundraising can email bazburns@btinternet.com or go to the facebook page Charlie Farley’s Sudep Awareness.