A CHARITY marked its oneyear tie up with a Colchester supermarket with a bumper fundraising campaign.

The Tom Bowdidge Foundation has been the chosen charity at Sainsbury’s, in Tollgate, for 12 months.

But now the charity has held its final fundraiser at the store, having collected tens of thousands of pounds.

The foundation was set up in memory of inspirational Tom, 19, who died fighting aggressive stomach cancer in 2013. It was co-founded by his parents Richard and Nikki Bowdidge, who live in West Bergholt.

The foundation’s goal is to raise funds to support research projects and to provide physical and emotional support to teenagers and young people with cancer.

Mrs Bowdidge said: “It was poignant. It has been an unbelievable year. It has far exceeded our expectations.

“The number of people who have said ‘we’ve seen you at Sainsbury’s’ was incredible.

“People’s pounds have got to go much further these days and what we’ve really seen is people like to support local charities. There are days when people are so generous, but, equally, there have been days when people are coming to us to share their stories and it’s an emotional day.”

Mr Bowdidge praised staff at the store, adding: “They have really embraced us.

“They embraced the blue Tshirts and everything we had to offer. They have been superb.”