KIND-HEARTED truckers have helped a charity raise funds to send two youngsters battling cancer on a fun-filled family day out.

The organisers of Sedgefield Racecourse Truck Show made Bringing Back a Smile a charity partner for the annual event at the County Durham venue at the weekend.

Launched earlier this year, the charity supports sick children and their families, organising fundraising events across the North-East.

At the truck show, a raffle was staged to raise funds for Lewis Smith and Alfie Taylor who have both been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

Truckers at the event were more than happy to buy tickets and a total of £348 was raised and split between the two families.

Alfie’s mother, Emma Taylor, said she would put the money towards a trip to Thomas Land in Staffordshire, which is one of the five-year-old’s favourite places.

Alfie, from Stanley, was diagnosed with cancer a year ago and has undergone intensive chemotherapy treatment.

It is not the first time Bringing Back a Smile has supported the youngster, with the charity’s founder Kevin Hill and supporters Les Watts and Gemma Wise staging a Tom Jones tribute night at Willington Workingmen’s Club last week. The event raised £1,300 for Alfie who dreams of going to Disney Land in Paris.

Mrs Taylor, 27, said: “We are so grateful and just can’t believe how nice people have been. We have never had anything like this before.”

Lewis’s mother, Sarah Oakley, from Kimblesworth, near Chester-le-Street, said the family would put the money towards a day out, possibly to Flamingo Land in North Yorkshire.

Lewis, six, was diagnosed with leukaemia and immunodeficiency disorder in 2015. He is treated with a combination of chemotherapy and antibodies.

Miss Oakley, a mother-of-three, said: “Kevin Hill is such a kind man and it’s amazing that he has set this charity up to help children like Lewis. We had a really good day at the truck show. The kids loved it.”

Mr Hill, from Newfield, near Bishop Auckland, thanked the truck show organiser Paul Lockwood and Sedgefield Racecourse for their support.

“I wanted to do something to help children as I have a grandson of my own,” said Mr Hill. “It’s all about making people smile.”

To find out more, search for Bringing Back a Smile on Facebook.