FAMILY members who sadly lost their father to cancer held a fundraiser to aid the charity that made his final weeks as comfortable at possible.

Tony Squire, of Chelmsford, passed away at his home in January last year, under the care of the Farleigh Hospice’s local branch, a charity for those with life-limiting conditions.

This month, his beloved daughters Katie, Charlie and wife Sara organised a ‘Mannequin Challenge’ fundraiser at Channels wedding venue, where Katie works as a manager in Tony’s honour.

The Little Waltham venue saw teachers from Chelmsford schools, local businesses and the Channels team, jokingly pose in frozen positions on Wednesday (December 21).

Together they raised almost £1,000.

Katie told how the event was a strong representation of how she and her family felt the moment they were told of Tony’s terminal cancer.

 She said: “When you or someone you love finds out they have terminal cancer your world stops. That’s why I wanted to create a video that reflected our emotions when we learnt that Dad had cancer.

 “Cancer touches one in three lives and therefore our story is just like so many others.

“The loss is made so much worse at Christmas because the celebrations are always tinged with so much sadness.

 “The Mannequin Challenge was our way of saying thank you to the Farleigh Hospice for the incredible support they gave us during Dad’s final weeks.”

 The Mannequin Challenge, which garnered 5000 views on Facebook, saw Christmas party goers posing frozen drinking champagne, pulling crackers, clinking glasses and one rather intoxicated chef appearing to have passed out in the kitchen.

On the night, Channels raised £830, however generous donations are still flooding in to their Just Giving page.

To donate, search ‘Channels Mannequin Challenge’ on the JustGiving website.