FRIENDS and family of a tragic Brierley Hill teen raised more than £820 during an event in his memory.

James Lowe, a former pupil at Redhill School in Stourbridge, died on August 28, 2011, aged just 15, after he collapsed on a beach during a family holiday in Devon.

The popular prefect had a rare genetic condition which affected the development of his bones and blood vessels but despite his illness, his sudden death rocked his family and friends.

Five years on from James’ death, his friends Ellie Riley and Remie Marsh organised a memorial event to raise funds for two charities – Birmingham Children’s Hospital and RNLI – which helped James and his family in his time of need.

Throughout the day, people took it in turns to mind the stalls, which included a raffle, tombola, name the teddy, bric-a-brac, nail painting, cakes and lucky dip.

Ellie said: “We wanted to beat our last amount of £700 which we raised in August 2012 and in the end we did as we managed £820.50.

“Many local business donated top prizes for the raffle, in total we had 48 prizes, including a £20 voucher from Stourbridge Beauty Rooms, a £10 meat voucher from Mike Grahams and a signed Wayne Rooney photo from Manchester United.

“We also had a signed and limited edition West Bromwich Albion pendant, which I’m delighted to say was won by James’ younger brother!

“With the left over prizes from tombola and bric-a-brac we donated them – three bin bags full – to Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

“We all enjoyed the day and helped each other out on the stalls. Everything went to plan which made it a really good day.”