Thousands raised for popular venue manager who suffered severe stroke

Darren Adams with his fiancee Kimberley Roberts and their daughter Alice

He now faces a long road to recovery and a desperate fund-raising appeal has been launched to help cover the cost of future rehab and treatment as well as ensuring there are no financial problems for his fiancee Kimberley Roberts and the couple’s young daughter Alice.

Darren is a well-known figure in Leigh, having been a popular DJ at the Leigh Arms, a manager at a number of bar and most recently the general manager and host at the Courtyard Bistro in Lowton.

And the town has rallied round in his hour of need, raising more than £7,000 already.

Danielle Evans, a close friend of the couple and the owner of the Lock Bar who set up the fund-raising page, said: “Everybody in town knows Darren or knows of him. The response so far has been amazing and just shows how popular he is.

“We’re just trying to raise as much money as possible and help out as much as we can.

“We want to make sure they don’t have to worry about money and we’re thinking we could raise enough to pay for extra rehabilitation and therapy when he comes home as well as potential adaptations to the house.

“Darren is a massive figure in the town and now more than ever him and Kim need all of our help.

“As a family they both have a long road ahead so if we can all pull together to relive any financial stresses then that would make a world of difference.”

Darren was rushed into Salford Royal Hospital on Friday July 10 but has since been transferred to Wigan Infirmary.

He had suffered a mini-stroke last September and stopped work, becoming a stay-at-home dad to 18-month-old Alice. He and Kimberley also got engaged around Christmas time last year.

Danielle says she is now thinking of increasing the fund-raising target to £20,000 as the page is already heading towards the initial goal of £10,000 less than a week after it was launched.

Darren was the DJ at the Leigh Arms and then managed the successful live music venue Bar-Bliss before opening Sound Bar.

To find out more or donate to the fund-raising drive visit the Go Fund Me page at https://gf.me/v/c/pb4x/lets-join-together-to-help-with-darrens-rehab