A GRIEVING wife teamed up with the hospice which cared for her late husband to raise thousands of pounds to help secure the future of its services.

Sarah Glew organised a spring ball with Farleigh Hospice in memory of late husband Andy and to celebrate the hospice turning 40 this year.

As the country went into the first Covid lockdown, Andy’s care for his rare form of brain cancer was moved from Farleigh’s inpatient unit to its new virtual ward system.

He received daily care at his home in Feering from the Farleigh nursing team in the final weeks of his life.

The Glew family, who now live in Earls Colne, have already raised more than £10,000 for the hospice via the MuchLoved tribute website as well as through a living tribute which Andy set up in the last few weeks of his life.

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Andy was much-loved and founded the Simply Fertility clinic with Sarah in Great Baddow. 

He lost his battle with brain cancer on March 27, 2020.

Sarah said: “The team at Farleigh Hospice did a fantastic job of adapting their services to the circumstances during lockdown and ensured we had the care and support that we needed.

“Being in lockdown meant we couldn’t have the funeral we had planned, as we were only allowed 10 people.

“The ball was my way of having the celebration of Andy’s life that we couldn’t have at the time.

“Now that we are able to all get together again, it was great to be able to celebrate Andy’s life by joining with Farleigh during its 40th birthday year.

“The evening allowed all of Andy’s family and friends to finally come together to remember him and was a great opportunity for us to continue our ongoing fundraising for the hospice.”

The black tie event took place at the Braxted Park Estate in Great Braxted on Saturday, and featured dinner, dancing, an auction and a raffle to raise money for the hospice, which turns 40 on May 5.

The MC and auctioneer for the night was BBC TV and radio presenter David Whiteley.

The event raised a total of £25,500.

Guests also watched the premiere of Farleigh’s 40th birthday commemorative video, which can be viewed online at youtu.be/Klzan9LZ-hE.