Let's paint town red to give fundraising boost

Committee members at Leigh Miners Rangers Academy, from left, Life president Trevor Barton MBE, secretary Steve Lloyd, vice chair Keith Nicholson and chairman Cliff Littler, get ready for the Pit Stop beer festival and a weekend of rugby, raising funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust

Members of a local rugby league club will turn the town red, white and blue during a spectacular real ale and rugby festival to raise money for a cancer charity.

Leigh Miners Rangers is bringing back the Pitstop Beer Festival and organising a celebration of the 13-man code in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust this June and July.

The event at the club’s academy headquarters at Sutton Park is modelled on a similar cancer fund-raiser in Batley which sees the local area turn pink each year.

However, the Leigh club has instead decided to model its festival on the colours of the charity dedicated to helping young cancer sufferers.

Leigh Miners Rangers life president Trevor Barton MBE said: “Quite a few families connected with the club have had problems with cancer, so we thought of the big cancer weekend Batley RLFC runs and wanted to do something like that but related to young people.

“The Teenage Cancer Trust does a huge amount of great work with young people who’ve got this pernicious disease, so it’s a great opportunity to bring the whole rugby league family together.

“We’ve spoken to the Trust and they are delighted, they are giving us all sorts of help with programming things.

“The trust’s colours are red, white and blue so we’re hoping to have a big balloon race to tell the world around us what we are doing. That will be at the end of the festival and hopefully we will have a celebrity doing it.”

The festival will involve matches for many of Leigh Miners Rangers’ sides, with men’s and women’s adult teams and juniors all expected to be in action.

The Pitstop Beer Festival will also run on the upstairs floor of the clubhouse throughout the weekend, with around 26 real ales available for drinkers to try.

Some of last year’s favourites are expected to return and there will also be new brews brought to the Leigh event for the first time, while visitors will also be able to sample gin and cider and enjoy live music.

The organising team is now looking for local businesses to support the event, with opportunities including beer barrel sponsorship and programme entries.

The event at Sutton Park on Manchester Road runs between June 30 and July 2.

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