Girl donates signed Colchester United shirt to cancer survivor brother (From Clacton and Frinton Gazette)

Girl donates signed Colchester United shirt to her cancer survivor brother

3:00pm Thursday 16th August 2012 in News

A KIND-HEARTED young girl won a signed Colchester United football shirt – but decided to hand it over to her football mad brother.

Colchester United stars Tom Eastman and Matt Heath visited Frinton as part of a promotion to boost trade at the Triangle Shopping Centre.

The special event was organised by bathroom and kitchen retailer Ashleys of Frinton.

The duo stayed to sign autographs and raffle off a shirt worn by Heath in a recent friendly against West Ham, signed by the whole team.

Jodie Borley, 10, was overjoyed to win the raffle, but decided to give the shirt to her little brother Josh.

Nine year-old Josh recently recovered from a rare form of cancer, Burkett’s non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and has been Colchester United’s biggest fan since the players visited him in hospital.

His grandmother Jean Malone said: “It was Jodie who won the shirt, but she decided to give it to Josh.

“She knows what he went through and how hard the last few years have been for Josh.

“We are so proud of her. They are very close and it was a lovely thing to do.”