THE school friend of a man who died unexpectedly from cancer has held a 24-hour gaming marathon which raised £1,070 for charity.

Rob Newbery, 20, from Clayton-le-Moors, hosted a mammoth Xbox session for six friends at his parent’s home.

The gameathon marked the anniversary of Allan Ramsbottom’s death and raised much-needed cash and awareness for the Lymphoma Association.

Allan, a former pupil of Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, Blackburn, displayed no symptoms of the condition before he died, only a week after being admitted into hospital.

Rob said: “I have been a good friend of Allan’s since we were about 10. We went to the same school and I felt I needed to put some input into the fund. I was really happy with the results.

“Everyone taking part knew how important it was for me to hold the event.

“The Facebook page was inundated with people congratulating us and telling us to keep up the good work and giving us motivation on the day.

“I’m not that good at expressing my emotions, but I had a little cry to myself after the event because it went so well.”

Rob and his friends raised money from sponsorship and donations from supporters on the night, totalling £535. This was matched by Allan’s dad, Bill Ramsbottom, as a thank you for their efforts.

Bill, from Haslingden, has been campaigning for the cancer charity since the death of his son on October 5 last year.

People can still donate at www.justgiving.com/ Rnewbs24Livestream