Ben Saunders' legacy years after his death

Joanne said her son Ben would be "incredibly proud" of what his foundation had achieved

A foundation set up by a teenager who died from cancer is still helping other young people in similar situations four years on.

Ben Saunders, from Bath, died in August 2020, weeks after setting up his own foundation to support young people with the disease.

The foundation, now run by his parents Tom and Joanne Saunders, has raised more than £760,000 and provided 351 families with a free holiday at their lodges at Cotswold Water Park.

Mrs Saunders said: "He [Ben] would be incredibly proud."

"I don't think he would be able to believe his idea and what he started, has achieved now," she added.

"Ben always wanted to be a millionaire, so I think that's got to be the goal."

Ben Saunders (middle) set up the foundation just weeks before his death in 2020

The inspiration for the lodges, on the Wiltshire and Gloucestershire border and cost around £15,000 to run annually, came after Ben, weeks before his death, enjoyed a similar holiday with his friends provided by the Reece Hawley foundation.

The site offers crazy golf, water sports and indoor and outdoor swimming pools.

Patients and families are referred to the service through hospitals across the UK.

"Sadly some of the families that have stayed, the children are no longer with us, it's very difficult some of it," said Mr Saunders.

The foundation, which was given a Points of Light Award, which recognises volunteers, charity leaders or community champions, by former prime minister Rishi Sunak in 2023, also provides vouchers for families and young patients being treated at the Teenage Cancer Trust ward in Bristol.

"We're very aware - and Ben was very aware - of the financial impact of the hospital stays, so if we can help a little bit, then that's great," said Mrs Saunders.

The foundation now has two lodges based at Cotswold Water Park, providing free holidays for families dealing with and bereaved by cancer

"He gave us very strict instructions that he was never to be forgotten and that's what drives us forward every day," said Mr Saunders.

"The last week of his life he thought of nothing else but the foundation, it was all down to him," he added.

On what the foundation has achieved so far, Mr Saunders said it has "gone incredibly well".

"It got off to a really good start and you always worry that it's going to come to an abrupt end," he added.

"It keeps us incredibly busy, Ben always kept us busy, he always wanted to go somewhere or do something and he continues to do that," said Mrs Saunders.

Debbie said the Ben Saunders Foundation allowed her daughter Hollie time to "relax" during her cancer diagnosis

Debbie Mytton, from Redditch in Worcestershire, said her daughter Hollie enjoyed a family holiday at 'Ben's retreat before her death from cancer on 22 February at the age of 21.

"She’s left such a massive hole in our family but they [the foundation] really did help us. Hollie was poorly but we went there and she just loved it," she said.

Mrs Mytton said her daughter was so "chilled out", she even went swimming without her wig, something she normally felt really conscious of.

Over 50 boards advertising the foundation have been put up at semi-professional football grounds

After hearing about the foundation through the hospital where Hollie was treated, Mrs Mytton said she now plans to hold an annual memorial day for her daughter in aid of the foundation, with the first set to take place on 7 September at Studley Sports and Social Club in Warwickshire.

Raising £6,500 so far, the day will include a raffle - which has prizes such as a helicopter ride, tickets to the Roman Baths in Bath and a barge boat holiday for 10 people.

"If I can give something back to that charity, it would mean the world to me," Mrs Mytton said.

Despite never meeting, Mrs Mytton said the Saunders family keep in regular contact with her and offered continuous support since Hollie's death.

"They're just such kind-hearted people," she said.

Mr Saunders said his son "thought of nothing else but the foundation" during the last week of his life

Marking the four-year anniversary of Ben's death, Mrs Saunders said: "It doesn't get any easier, it just changes over time."

"It changes you as a person and it takes a long time to realise that," she added.

"Anniversaries and birthdays and Christmas are just shocking and you just wish that you could go to sleep a week before and wake up a couple of days after," said Mr Saunders.

"Everything in life is a bit hollow and a bit empty but those are the cards that we've been dealt with. Life has to go on," he added.