By the order of Sedgefield Racecourse, who recently held the Cheaky Blinders Event that took County Durham and Cleveland by storm which ultimately grabbed the attention of local businesses and communities to come support a great night and support a great charity, The Solan Connor Fawcett Family Cancer Trust.

The Charity Event which started at approximately 7.00pm included some Peaky Blinders look-a-likes, an amazing Street Magician, Real Cars from the Set of Peaky Blinders, and Live Entertainment from the Cheaky Blinders Band which everyone danced the night away to.

In 2015, Mark Solan (the founder of The Solan Connor Fawcett Family Cancer Trust) was asked to participate in a white collar boxing event to raise money for Cancer Research UK. He instantly thought it would be an opportunity he couldn’t refuse to get fit and raise some money in memory of his Mother and Grandmother who both died from cancer. His mam was 42 when she was told she was terminally ill and she passed away age 43; he was 22 at the time and was totally devastated and still has not recovered from his loss. Mark took it upon himself to set himself a fundraising target of £1000 (The national UWCB record was £10,240). By the night of his fight in July 2015 the total money that had been donated was an outstanding £14,000 and he won the fight by a TKO after 85 seconds in the first round.

He said shortly afterwards “The fight was a great release for me. I felt really positive and felt as if, in a small way, I was Knocking out Cancer.”

When the Just Giving Page closed, donations had totalled to £21,315. Excited and inspired by his ability to raise that amount of money through donations, he decided he could do more to help those affected by this horrible disease. The Solan Connor Fawcett Family Cancer Trust was launched to help those affected by cancer. Their plan is to create a place which will support individuals and families in County Durham and Darlington who are affected by cancer. The Charity is all about you and how they can help you deal with your cancer journey.

The Solan Connor Fawcett Family Cancer Trust has now become a major influencer in the charity industry within the North East Area, allowing families to speak out about the harsh realities cancer can bring as well as financially supporting those who are in need.

A huge thank you to local businesses as the likes of: Phoenix Eye Security, M&R Developments & Contractors LTD, The Sekura Group, Manpower, LED Supply & Fit, Pajunk UK Medical Products, WSG Signage, Watts Fences, James Fletcher Marquees, Contego, Hargreaves Transport, Kia Stockton, South Durham Hunt and JG Paxton’s who generously sponsored a table for the evening allowing the cancer warriors from the charity to come down and join us for the evening and a night to forget about the heartache at home.