Hartlepool dad and two sons plays drums on top of Roseberry Topping for blood cancer cause

Dad Leigh Barnfather and his two sons literally banged the drum to raise awareness and money for blood cancer.
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Leigh played his drum kit at the top of Roseberry Topping after lugging his pride and joy more than 1,000ft with the help of sons Sam, 24, and Dan 22.

He did it in order to raise money and awareness for the stem cell donor register charity DKMS.

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Leigh, who plays drums occasionally for band Next Stop Vegas, decided to do it as his dad Alan who is receiving treatment for blood cancer called myeloma.

Leigh Barnfather with sons Dan (left) and Sam on top of Roseberry Topping after playing the drums.Leigh Barnfather with sons Dan (left) and Sam on top of Roseberry Topping after playing the drums.
Leigh Barnfather with sons Dan (left) and Sam on top of Roseberry Topping after playing the drums.

But with only 1% of people on the UK register, Leigh wanted to do his bit to improve that.

He, Dan and Sam began their ascent of Roseberry Topping, near Great Ayton, at 6am.

It took them two hours to carry the full kit to the top and had to do it in stages.

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Leigh, 48, of Greyfields, Hartlepool, said: “Each one of us had to go up and down once each to get all the gear up to the top and back down again.

“We took plenty of breathers as it was quite hard work.

“I had a really good time spending quality time with my sons.

“This gave us something to do to try to support my dad.

“We all came away glad at having done it, but shattered when we were finished.”

Every 20 minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with a blood cancer such as leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma.

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And DKMS says every minute of every day, blood cancer takes a life somewhere in the world.

Only about 30% of people with blood cancer find a matching stem cell donor within their family, meaning most must look further afield.

Leigh, who works at Nissan in Sunderland, added: “I think we should have millions on the register to give people a fighting chance.

“One percent of people are on the UK register and I don’t think that’s enough.”

Leigh has also raised more than £1,000 for DKMS which also researches potential cures and treaments.

You can donate by going to his JustGiving page here.

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