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October 28, 2004updated 22 Nov 2022 12:18pm

Paper sends sick child to Lapland

By Press Gazette

The weekly Accrington Observer raised £11,000 in five weeks, nearly double the target figure, in its appeal to help a child suffering from an incurable skin disease meet Santa in Lapland.

Observer editor Mervyn Kay decided to launch the appeal after his paper had splashed on the story of Ryan Cottrell, who suffers from the painful disease Epidermolysis Bullosa.

Donations flooded in, from five pound notes from pensioners to an anonymous £3,000 cheque from a businessman.

Kay said: “Ryan will be able to spend the rest of the money on things that will hopefully make his life more comfortable, such as treatments and adaptations to his house.”

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