A charity football match between cast members from Emmerdale, The Dream Team, Shameless and The Full Monty and Birmingham City Old Boys at Atherstone Town Football Club has raised £2,500 for DebRA, the national charity working on behalf of families affected by the painful skin blistering condition Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB),
Over 600 people attended the match, which was organised with friends by Atherstone businessman Mark Garratt, whose nine year-old son Matthew was born with Dowling Meara EB. EB has a number of distinct forms: at its mildest, blistering is confined to the hands and feet. In more severe cases, the whole body is affected and wounds heal very slowly, giving rise to scarring, physical deformity and significant disability. Blistering can also affect inner body linings, such as the mouth and oesophagus and, in its most advanced form, EB can be fatal in infancy.
Tony Eckersall, Regional Fundraising Manager at DebRA, said: “The day was a huge success and DebRA is very grateful to Mark, the teams, Atherstone FC, all the helpers and Chairman Dave Allen and his staff for organising this fantastic fundraising event. We also thank everyone who came along and supported us on the day.”
DebRA funds specialist EB nurses, provides a welfare team to support families living with EB and also funds vital research programmes with the aim of putting an end to the pain of EB.
For more information about DebRA, please visit www.debra.org.uk.
