A BARBECUE on Saturday (August12) at Berry Hill Rugby Club, held in memory of teenager Leanne Davies, raised £1,443 to support families who have lost a young person in a road traffic collision (RTC).

Heather Davies, Leanne’s mother, set up Leanne’s Gift the year after her 19-year-old daughter was killed in a RTC as a passenger.

Heather, who lives in Lydbrook and works full-time at the village’s primary school, said: “We became registered as a charity in 2015 and we’ve now raised over £40,000 and supported four Forest families. We also run and support road safety events in local schools and colleges.

“Last year we supported ‘What if…?’ a huge roadshow, run by Gloucestershire County Council, that toured for three months based on the experience of two local boys who survived a bad RTC near Lydney.”

The barbecue on Saturday was one of a series of fundraising events that the charity runs.

Heather added: “It went really well and we had a lot of local support and better weather than we expected.

“It helped that Ross-on-Wye and Berry Hill were playing a friendly rugby match on the day too.

“I’d like to thank everybody who was involved and who supported us. Without you we just can’t go ahead and because we have a Forest base, all of our support comes from the Forest.

“There are just too many local businesses who help us to be able to name them all.”

The charity also runs Drive for Life workshops in local schools, during which pupils are taken off timetable all day to participate in road safety workshops.

To find out more, visit www.leannes

gift.co.uk. To donate, visit www.justgiving.com/leannes-gift