Family smash fundraising target in memory of teen

Tony Sutton, AJ Pearson, Ella Dixon and Louise Sutton smile at the camera before the start of the walk. They are wearing orange t-shirts reading Meningitis Now and black jackets. Louise, is also wearing a read beanie and holding a red heart-shaped balloon with Lloyd Forever written on it in white.  Ella and AJ have black hoods on. All four are wearing backpacks.
Image caption,

Parents Tony and Louise Sutton (far left and right) were joined by Lloyd's girlfriend, Ella Dixon, and his best friend AJ Pearson

  • Published

Family and friends of a teenager who died from bacterial meningitis have raised more than £23,000 in his memory - smashing their original target.

Lloyd Sutton, from Workington, died last October at the age of 18.

Supporters have spent the past year climbing all 214 Wainwrights in his memory and conquered their final fell, Latrigg, on Saturday.

More than 100 people joined in with the final hike near Keswick.

Lloyd's mum, Louise Sutton, said they wanted to raise awareness of the disease after they discovered him unresponsive in his room and had no idea what had happened.

"The moment we found Lloyd, we didn't know it was meningitis," she said.

"But, doing this, a lot of people are getting more aware of it, by all the fundraising we do."

Ella Dixon, Lloyd’s girlfriend, added: "I don't know what I'd be doing without the walks, because they've helped me so much and they've helped us to create our little orange family. "

The group has plans for a three peaks challenge and a trek across the Sahara next year.

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