ANOTHER donor driver to help a little Gornal girl beat leukaemia will be held in Halesowen this weekend.

19-month-old Phoebe Ashfield, from Gornal, desperately needs a bone marrow transplant after being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia when she was just seven months old.

Following a year of gruelling treatment, Phoebe's mother, Emma Wyke, recently received the devastating news that CAR-T therapy had not worked, so now a transplant is her only option.

Emma said: "She was diagnosed in January 2019, she relapsed in June, then again in September. She then had a CAR-T transplant in October but now have found out that the transplant hasn’t worked. It came as a huge blow."

A donor drive took place in Brierley Hill last weekend and a second event is set to take place in the Cornbow Shopping Centre in Halesowen this Saturday (February 15).

Michelle Osell, who organised the event after meeting with Phoebe and her family, said last weekend's drive was 'absolutely fantastic'.

She said: "It was fabulous, absolutely fantastic. We couldn't have wished for better support. Droves of people really showed a lot of community spirit.

"It was beyond what we expected."

Michelle is one half of comedy duo Musings of Black Country Wench, who along with sidekick Karen Westwood, work to raise awareness of local causes.

182 people were swabbed at last Saturday's event, with more people believed to have signed up to the DKMS register at home.

Phoebe and her family attended the event at Brierley Hill market, where the crowds were entertained by local performers and children's mascots.

Michelle now hopes that even more people will get swabbed in Halesowen this weekend to increase the chance of finding a match for Pheobe.

Blood cancer organisation DKMS will be on hand to register potential donors, take cheek swab samples and answer any questions people may have in a bid to find a match a stem cell match for the youngster.

The donor drive takes place from 10am to 4pm at the Cornbow Shopping Centre on Saturday, February 15.