Memorablia-Auction

Father of three whose 28-year-old wife died of cancer has raised £7,000 for the Royal United Hospital at a charity auction. Before she died in May, Rachel Deadman told her husband, Rob, that she wanted him to raise money for the hospital unit which had treated her.

Since her death, Mr Deadman and his three children - Stephanie, ten, Kayleigh, seven, and three-year-old Kyle - have held a series of fund-raising events for the Bath Cancer Unit Support Group.

The success of Wednesday's sports dinner and auction means the family has now raised more than £11,400.

Mr Deadman, 33, said the event at the Pavilion in Bath had surpassed his expectations.

"It went beyond my wildest dreams," he said. "I'm ecstatic.

"I promised myself I wouldn't cry on the night because I wanted people to be happy.

"But when they did a preliminary calculation and said how much had been raised, I burst into tears.

"Raising money for the unit was something I wanted to do and something Rachel wanted to do. It's very dear to my heart.

"I'm really grateful to everyone who attended and to the people who donated the lots."

Thirty-six items went under the hammer on the night. The shirt worn by former Bath rugby hero Mike Catt in his 50th match for England was the most sought-after, raising £700. And a football signed by Manchester United players from the 1997 season raised £350.

This lot was particularly poignant for Mr Deadman because it had been donated by his aunt and uncle, Marlene and Michael Davies, who had been given the ball after their son, also called Michael, was killed in a road accident seven years ago.

Bath Rugby stars Steve Borthwick, Spencer Davey, Martyn Wood and David Barnes were among the 140 people who attended the event.

Mr Deadman, who lives in Southwick, near Trowbridge, had initially set himself a fund-raising target of £10,000, but is now aiming for £15,000.

Looking towards his next fund-raising adventure, Mr Deadman said: "My children want to do a sponsored bike ride from Trowbridge to the Royal United Hospital so they can go and thank the doctors for looking after their mum.

"Kayleigh said to me, 'Now that we've raised £10,000, can we take it up to the doctors to say thank you?'"

Mrs Deadman received radiotherapy, chemotherapy and nursing care at the RUH over a three-year period after developing cervical cancer that spread to her lymphatic system.