THE mother of a 13-year-old boy who died of cancer has thanked residents of a small North Yorkshire village for helping raise £30,000 in his memory.

Patrick Hooker, from Topcliffe, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire was diagnosed with a rare cancer of the soft tissue in December 2011. After his diagnosis he underwent two years of near-constant treatment at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, but died in September last year.

Now Patrick’s mum Lois, who is originally from Saltburn, has thanked the many people who helped raise funds for a charity which supported them.

“The local community have been very much affected by Patrick’s diagnosis and passing,” she said.

“They have been amazing with their support to the family, with the fundraising, and also with all kinds of emotional and practical support.”

Throughout Patrick’s treatment the community in Topcliffe and neighbouring village Asenby came together to support the Hooker family and to fundraise for CLIC Sargent, a charity for children and young people with cancer.

Mrs Hooker said: “The fundraising actually started in 2012, when he was still with us. Patrick decided himself the money should go to the charity CLIC Sargent because he got so much help from them.”

When Patrick died his family set up a CLIC Sargent Remember Me fund in his honour, which the local community have continued to add to.

Most recently, a nine-strong group of dedicated local men including Patrick’s father Julian trekked the 84 mile length of Hadrian’s Wall, and have raised £4,625 in sponsorship to date. Busby Stoop Garage provided a free safety vehicle, while a support group was made up of six other local residents.

Mrs Hooker said they also received a lot of support from Patrick's current and former schools. The youngster had just started attending Thirsk School and Sixth Form College before his diagnosis and previously attended Topcliffe CE Primary.

The support of CLIC Sargent had also been invaluable, particularly as Patrick needed long stays in the Newcastle hospital. The charity helped get him a tablet computer to keep him in touch with his friends back down in North Yorkshire.

“The charity just seemed to know what you needed," said Mrs Hooker.

"They give a certain amount of money to help people with car-parking and accommodation if you need somewhere to stay. They got in touch with the school because we felt we couldn’t do that.

“They assisted with all kinds of support, but also the mundane things in life because when you’re going through something like that your child is everything, they are the most important thing and although other things are important too, you don’t want to be bothered by them.”

Fundraising in Patrick’s honour will continue. To donate visit; www.justgiving.com/teams/patrickhooker