Biddulph Bobbies do LEJOG for Charity

Three police officers from Biddulph have taken part in one of the toughest challenges of their lives to help send children with disablities or terminal illness on the holiday of a lifetime to Disneyland in Florida. PCSO Peter Johnson, PC Steve Marsh and PC Steve Meacock, all from Biddulph, were part of the ‘Bobbies on Bikes 4 Kids’ team that cycled from Lands End to John O’Groats (covering 900 miles in 9 days) to raise money to send three children to Disneyland in Florida through Cauldwell Children’s charity ‘Destination Dreams’. With your helpthey exceeded their challenge and raised £25,036. The riders recount the event as the toughest challenges any of them had ever undertaken. What kept them going was the thought of the children they were raising money for, the children have life limiting illnesses which require a full paramedic team and a qualified paediatrician to travel with them. One child from Blurton in Stoke-on-Trent, 12-year-old Leon Whalley, was chosen to go on the trip. As a baby he suffered a deadly form of meningitis which resulted in him being put into a medically induced coma. When he was taken out of the coma he suffered a bleed on his brain which resulted in his condition today. It has left him totally reliant on his family for his care. Family holidays, even in the UK, are almost impossible to arrange due to his condition and needs. Leon’s mother Carroll said: “A trip of this magnitude was just a dream for Leon. We couldn’t believe he had been chosen.” Three of the BOB4K team – PC Stevon Marsh (Biddulph Response Officer), PCSOs Michele Chadwick and Justine Marsh, were invited to Gatwick in December to meet all the children, their families and medical team before they set off. They say they were completely humbled and were overwhelmed when there was a standing ovation from more than 250 people as Caudwell’s Children Charity thanked them and said they had raised a tenth of the cost of the trip for two children and their families. When one of the original volunteers to help the families on the trip became ill and unable to go, BOB4K event manager, PCSO Justine Marsh, was asked to step in. She said: “I was lost for words seeing the huge smiles on the faces of the children when they went into Disneyland. I will never forget the seven day experience with them.” The officers from Biddulph, PCSO Peter Johnson, PC Steve Marsh and PC Steve Meacock would like to thank everyone locally for their support and a big thank you to Sainsbury’s, Biddulph.