RIichard Fleeshman to Sing for Meningitis Girl at North East Event

Singer, songwriter Richard Fleeshman will perform at a charity auction to raise funds for three-year-old Tilly Lockey who lost both her hands to meningitis at the age of 15 months.

The star-studded event on 5th September at the Hilton Hotel, Gateshead will see over one hundred celebrity hand prints auctioned to raise funds for the youngster, including hand-drawn pieces by J K Rowling, Tom Hanks and Whoopi Goldberg and framed casts of Girls Aloud, Jonathan Ross and Denise Welch.

Tilly’s mum, Sarah Lockey, said: “This will be the biggest event we have hosted for Tilly and it’s what we’ve been planning since the night she lost her hands. I’m very excited as it promises to be a really memorable night for all attending.”

When Tilly was only 15 months old, she contracted meningitis and doctors were forced to amputate her hands in order to save her life, she also lost her toes to the killer disease.

Sarah added: “When Tilly was taken to the operating room to have her hands removed, I promised her we would get her new hands and they would be the best you can get.”

Since that moment, Sarah and her husband, Adam, have tirelessly dedicated themselves to raising money to buy Tilly the best prosthetic hands available. Their ‘Give Tilly A Hand’ campaign has seen them collect over 100 celebrity hand prints and drawings.

Tilly’s father, Adam, said: “We’ve been blown away by the willingness of celebrities to donate handprints and the warmth they have shown towards Tilly.”

Now, Sarah and Adam are hoping these unique pieces of memorabilia will give Tilly’s fund a major boost. Experts have predicted the JK Rowling piece could sell for anything upward of £2000.

Tickets for the Give Tilly A Hand Auction Ball start at £65 per person which includes a champagne reception,3 course dinner and a range of entertainment including singer, songwriter Richard Fleeshman , X-Factor finalists, Badlashes and Celebrity Psychological Mind Reader 'Kennedy'.

The event will be officially started by North East actress, Denise Welch, who is patron of the Appeal and who will be attending with husband Tim Healy and colleagues from the BBC’s Waterloo Road and ITV’s Loose Women thanks to generous support from the Hilton Hotel.

Other confirmed celebrities include: "Dragon Den" star Duncan Bannatyne, "I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here" celebrity fashion designer Scott Henshall, Rob Lee, John Beresford as well as a string of stars from film, TV & Music such as Big Brother stars Anthony Hutton, Liam McGough & Ziggy Lichman .

Richard Fleeshman will fly into Newcastle from the U.S. especially for the event. He will be in Los Angeles writing his second album, having recently completed a third stadium tour, supporting Sir Elton John in Europe .

He said: “I’m delighted to be able to support the Give Tilly a Hand Appeal and I’m looking forward to performing on the night of the auction. Hopefully we can help to give this wonderful little girl the hands she needs.”

To purchase tickets log on to http://www.givetillyahand.com/ or telephone Event Project Manager Ken Wallace at She's Gott It! Event Management (0191) 370 9559.

Tilly’s parents would like to thank the following companies who are donating their time and services to help organise the Auction Ball:

Headline sponsor - Photography for Little People, Stylefrog Creative, Spacecraft Events Ltd, Newcastle/Gateshead Hilton Hotel for continued support and sponsoring important elements of the Celebrity Auction. Alan Dobson of DD Events Consultants, She's Gott It - Event Management, RT Design, Encore Dance Entertainment Group. Digitalab, Tricycle Media, Frame House Ltd. Audi, Kennedy the Illusionist and Bad Lashes. Finally, eternal thanks go to patron Denise Welch.

Ticket Sales - Please contact Ken Wallace, Event Project Manager, She's Gott It! Event Management on T: 0191 370 9559 or E: ken@shesgottit.com