Harwich dad donates £10k to hospital which helped late son

Andrew Farrow, from Harwich, has handed over a cheque for a whopping £10,000 to the paediatric intensive care unit at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridgeshire.

The facility’s dedicated doctors and nurses tried to help his son Freddie, five, after he suffered a head injury when a mirror fell on him in the Fenwick shop in Colchester.

Tragically, despite their best efforts, the youngster, who went to Gosbecks Primary School in Colchester, died of his injuries six days later on August 2 last year.

Mr Farrow, who initially set out to raise a modest £500 for the specialist hospital, said: “When faced with life and death situations, the line between is very thin.

“The feeling of loss and grief when I lost Freddie was immense - I knew I had to act positively or I would be in trouble.

“But, with the help and support of family, friends, work colleagues, and the general goodwill of the public, in circumstances like mine, amazing things can happen.

“There are too many supporters to individually mention, but thank you all.”

Mr Farrow generated the £10,000 sum for the paediatric intensive care unit by growing his beard between late last year and the end of July.

In support of his campaign, his First Essex colleagues, Dave Biggs, Dave Johns, Steve Biscoe, Pete Lewis, and Alan Buchannan, also followed suit.

The group then shaved off their busty bristles while streaming the event live on social media before donating the fruits of their labour a couple of weeks later.

“It was a year in the making and handing over a five-figure sum felt amazing,” said Mr Farrow, who presented the cheque on what would have been Freddie’s 7th birthday.

“I was driven to fundraise by Freddie and to help carry on Freddie’s legacy – a massive thank you from Freddie and us all to Addenbrooke’s and the NHS.

“I know Freddie will be smiling down on his dad and smiling with pride. I miss you Fred boy.”