HUNDREDS of people enjoyed a day of activities and fundraising on Saturday in memory of two-year-old Charlie Harris-Beard.

A family fun day was held at The Crown in Wychbold, near Droitwich, in memory of the Kidderminster youngster who died earlier this month at Birmingham Children’s Hospital following a battle with leukaemia.

Following his diagnosis, his family set up the charity Cords4Life to raise awareness of how umbilical cord donations can save lives.

Craig Browne, events co-ordinator at The Crown, said they had previously decided to run the event when Charlie was taken into intensive care, but after he passed away the family gave their blessing for it to carry on as a memorial event to raise money for the charity.

Activities started at midday and carried on until late, and included a bouncy castle, face painting, a magic show, an appearance by Peppa Pig as well as performances by local bands.

Mr Browne said he believes up to 1,000 people could have attended the event throughout the day and they expect to have raised more than £500.

He said: “It was absolutely amazing, we were rammed inside and out.

“From 1pm on it went mad. We ran out of car parking spaces but luckily we had use of others.

“The feedback from people was really, really good, it was absolutely perfect.

“We had lots of credit on Facebook and it was really good for the cause.

“Everyone was so supportive and gave generously.”

Amanda Duffy, from Droitwich, was at the event with her family and said they had been following Charlie’s story in the media.

She said: “We came here to support Charlie and the event and raise enough money.

“It’s fantastic that everyone has got together and is doing such great things to raise money and awareness.”

Rachel Page and her family travelled down from Solihull after learning about the event through Facebook on Friday.

She said: “I’m meeting a friend from Stourport and we decided to come here and take advantage of the fun day while we’re here after seeing it on Facebook last night.

“I followed the story through Facebook, it’s very sad but this is a good idea.”

• A charity ball to raise money for Cords4Life will take place at Aston Villa’s Trinity Suite on Saturday, May 4.

Charlie’s Ball has been organised by Michelle Wilson from Birmingham in memory of the youngster.

Visit Charlie’s Facebook page for more information.