£10,000 raised at father’s charity auction

A father’s charity auction evening raised more than £10,000 for a children’s hospital that treated his three-year-old daughter who suffered a brain tumour which caused epilepsy.

Neve after her surgery

Cliff Targett wanted to raise cash for Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) in London after surgeons removed a tumour in his daughter Neve’s left temporal lobe which had been causing her to have seizures – sometimes as many as 40 a day.

Neve began to fit at nine months old, which meant the father-of-two and his wife Lauren, 32, made regular trips to see doctors to get a diagnosis, while looking after their other daughter India, five.

Cliff and colleague Tony Wright organised the evening of entertainment at the Concorde Club in Eastleigh, where former Saints star Gordon Watson auctioned the prizes to the 200 guests.

“It went very well and everyone enjoyed themselves,” said Cliff, 32, who lives in Bursledon and owns his own electrical company.

“We had an ambassador there from Great Ormond Street Hospital and he said the amount of money we’d raised was fantastic.

“What we’ve raised will be helpful. It all goes a long way. I feel happy.

“Gordon was really nice. He was in the hospital as a kid so he has a personal connection to it. He hasn’t had much work on at the moment but still did it for us for free and also I think because of his connection to it.”

He thanked people for the donations and Tony, who owns an electrical company in Park Gate, which Cliff is a sub-contractor for.

“Tony was really helpful,” Cliff added. “He started the ball rolling with donations, while I was in charge of selling tickets and he was there on the night. I couldn’t have done it alone.

“It was hard work organising that charity night but it’s worth it.”

From February 6 to 16 Cliff will be trekking Mount Kilimanjaro for GOSH and hopes overall he can raise £12,000 for the charity-funded hospital.

He said it was the least he could do for the hospital that treated his daughter earlier this year.

This week he is beginning some intense training regimes, including running walking with weights and doing some one-on-one boxing sessions for strength training.

To donate money to Cliff’s mountain trek visit www.justgiving.com/Cliff-Targett1.