Events galore are happening early next month to raise more money to help a Banburyshire boy with bone cancer

The fundraising is for Freddie's Future - a fund set up for Freddie Croft, who suffers from a very rare cancer called Ewing's Sarcoma. And two of the events are Fun Dog Shows which eight-year-old Freddie himself will judge.

The burst of fundraising began when two separate supporters of the Croft family's fundraising efforts decided to run the London Marathon.

Stuart Young will run the marathon this October 3 and he has set a £3,500 target for his fundraising to donate to the Croft's fund - Freddie's Future. As well as a JustGiving page which you can find at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/marathonforfreddiesfuture he is holding a charity raffle and auction at the Elephant and Castle pub in Bloxham on Saturday, September 4.

Then family friend Karen Ellis was accepted for the London Marathon 2022 and her fundraising is also in full swing. See her JustGiving page here .She will be running a Teddy Tombola at the Hook Norton Brewery Open Day on Sunday, September 5.

Now Freddie and his family, who own Crofts Pet Store in Banbury, have added a Fun Dog Show to each of these events. Each one will have a selection of classes suitable for all dog owners, from the prettiest bitch to the dog with the waggiest tail and from the best child handler to the dog with the most appealing eyes. Entries are £3 per class.

"We're so grateful to Stuart and Karen for choosing Freddie's Future for their marathon fundraising. Stuart has a target to reach for his London Marathon entry but he wanted to go above and beyond that which we're hoping he will do after our weekend of fun," said Freddie's Mum, Nicole Croft.

"It's a big challenge for Stuart. He is very into his fitness but he's taking it very seriously and wants to run all the way, no walking!"

Mr Young's raffle and auction feature some great attractions. There are meals to be won, sports opportunities, celebrity-signed sportswear, vouchers and much more. The raffle begins at 7pm and the auction at 9pm.

He said: " Freddie was unfortunately diagnosed with a rare childhood cancer in November 2019. It's called Ewing's Sarcoma and is an aggressive cancer that creates tumours in the bone and soft tissue that can spread to anywhere in the body, very quickly.

"Freddie faced eight months of chemotherapy, countless blood transfusions, platelet transfusions, blood boosting injections, radiotherapy and their side effects. Freddie has been an awesome fighter and huge inspiration to me.

"I want to raise money for the development of more treatment and immunotherapy to allow children like Freddie to have a chance at fighting this awful disease."

Sunday is Hook Norton Brewery open day from noon - 5pm and there will be Teddy Tombola, organised by Ms Ellis who is also raising funds for Freddie. There will be another Fun Dog Show with Freddie as judge and there will be prizes including goodie bags with doggie treats, courtesy of Crofts.