Friends raising funds in memory of Shifnal father Stuart, 31

Stuart Currall died of natural causes on January 6, leaving a loving family behind including his two young sons, Leo and Freddie.

Now friends and family have been collecting money for a memorial service, and to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation, as Stuart suffered from heart-related illnesses.

They have set up an online crowdfunding page so that people can add their own donations.

Matt Malin, a lifelong friend of Stuart, has been organising the fundraising efforts and has put together a number of events to help support the work.

A day of activities will be held on February 2, which will see many of his old friends chip in to help.

The day will start at 2pm with a charity football match hosted by Shifnal Town FC, with a team of friends against a team of Stuart’s brother’s friends.

The match will be kicked off by Stuart’s elder son, Freddie, and residents are invited to attend and support the event. There will be charity tins and buckets present for the British Heart Foundation.

Following the football match, a charity darts event will be taking place at the Shifnal Town football club sports bar at 4pm. There will also be a charity raffle, with many prizes donated, including a signed AFC Telford United shirt, a family ticket to one of their home games, an RAF Cosford Air Show family ticket and many other prizes donated by local businesses.

Loved

"This is really important to all of us," Matt said. "We wanted to bring those who were closest to Stuart together to try and raise funds in his memory.

"The tag line for the football and darts competition is ‘doing what you loved to do most’, which was play football and darts. His passing has come as huge shock to every one of us and this would be a fitting tribute to a man who was known by many in Shifnal."

Aside from the activities on February 2, there will also be a ‘wear it blue for Stu’ day taking place on February 3.

All schools in Shifnal are taking part in this event, including the nursery Stuart’s son attends. Pupils are invited to wear something blue on the day in exchange for a £1 donation.

Matt’s sister, Kate, who has liaised with the schools to create this event, said: "We are delighted that all schools in Shifnal have decided to take part in the event, especially Idsall and Shifnal Primary, where Stuart was an ex pupil."

Matt added: "Stuart suffered from heart-related illnesses, so the British Heart Foundation was an obvious choice for us. One of our team has liaised with Warren, their fundraising area manager, and he has been very encouraging of us and the event.”

More than £3,600 has been raised through online fundraising so far.

For more information or to donate visit bit.ly/37oEjRF