A 16-year-old Norton Hill student, who lost her best friend, Emma Welch, from Chilcompton, aged fourteen, following surgery in June 2015, has been awarded a Pride of Somerset Youth Award earlier this month.

Emma Welch raised thousands for national charity, Brain Tumour Research, after learning that church minister, Andrew Stammers, from Radstock Baptist Church had been diagnosed with a brain tumour.

Victoria Roberts, from High Littleton, who lost her aunt to a brain tumour, decided to continue Emma’s legacy and immediately set up a Facebook page for Daisy Bear – made ‘famous’ in shots taken days before Emma’s untimely death, when she walked up Snowdon to set a record for the largest number of teddies on a mountain summit.

Last year, Victoria and Daisy Bear attempted to break two crochet records and are still waiting to hear whether they achieved the largest display of crocheted items – the 20,000 daisies went on display during August 2016 at Yeo Valley Organic Gardens.

Victoria, who received the award for her fundraising and services to charity, will be taking her GCSEs in a few weeks’ time, but she is urging people across the region to wear a hat to school or work this Friday and make a donation, to raise awareness of the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under the age of forty. Just 1% of the national spend has been allocated to this devastating disease.

“I was overwhelmed to receive the award, but it’s Emma’s award really,” said Victoria. “I am just carrying on what she would have been doing if she was still with us. We are having a mufti day on Friday at Norton Hill, and I am hoping that as many

students as possible will wear hats.

“I want to thank everyone who supports Daisy Bear’s fundraising and particularly people who have been making bobble hats for me to sell on Wear A Hat Day.

“Obviously I am having to focus on my revision right now, but Emma’s Dad, Tony, has just left to do a fifty day walk with Daisy’s little sister, Petal, along the Camino de Santiago in Spain and one of Lesley’s (Emma’s Mum’s) friends (Westfield ward Councillor, Robin Moss), is going to do a wing walk with Daisy later in the year – all for Brain Tumour Research. Daisy and I will, of course, have our usual stall at the High Littleton and Hallatrow Village day on August Bank Holiday!”

Wear A Hat Day was launched by the charity Brain Tumour Research and is the culmination of Brain Tumour Awareness Month. The big day will see schools, workplaces, families and individuals across the region fundraising and taking part in fun events to raise awareness of brain tumours and help fund life-saving research. You can find out more about Daisy Bear’s fundraising activities via www.

facebook.com/daisy.bear.750

To get involved, or donate, please visit: www.wearahatday.org