A MEMORIAL football tournament remembering footballer Olly Wilkes has raised a record-breaking £13,244 for charity and seen yet more people sign up to the stem cell register.

Around 1,000 people attended the third annual Olly Wilkes Memorial Football Tournament, held at Thorns Collegiate Academy, Quarry Bank, on Saturday June 25.

Organiser Simon Wilkes, who has been organising the annual tournament with wife Lynn and son Ben since Olly passed away aged just 22 in 2017, thanked all those who supported the event and donated cash and prizes.

Stourbridge News: Olly Wilkes pictured with mum LynnOlly Wilkes pictured with mum Lynn

He said: “If you helped in anyway, we thank you from the bottom of our broken hearts. All this just would not happen without the unbelievable support we get.”

Money raised from the event will go to MDS UK which helps patients suffering from rare blood cancer Myelodysplastic Syndrome which Simon has been battling since 2013.

Funds will also be given to the Lily Mae Foundation, which supports parents who have lost a baby to stillbirth or to neonatal death, and a donation will also be made to Withymoor Colts FC.

Each organisation will receive £4,414.95.

Simon told the News the response to the event had been “amazing” and it was the most successful to date.

Representatives from the Anthony Nolan charity took swabs on the day to try to get more people signed up to the stem cell register to help save the lives of people with blood disorders.

A further 26 people signed up on the day – bringing the total number who have signed up to help save lives at Simon’s events over the last few years to 118.

Local stem cell donors Matt Beveridge, Sam Astley and Ricky Cheema (who has donated four times) attended the event along with Casey Mulhall who is waiting to donate after recently being declared a match.