A SUPPLY teacher from Appleton is spending five months sleeping outside in a tent in memory of her son.

Helen Flitcroft tragically lost her son, James Flitcroft, last August from osteosarcoma, a primary bone cancer.

James was 22 when he passed away from terminal cancer on August 2 at St. Rocco’s Hospice after a five year battle.

After raising £17,000 for St. Rocco’s with the help of her family and friends, Helen is now fundraising for the Bone Cancer Trust who are the leading charity dedicated to fighting primary bone cancer.

Helen, 54, said: ‘‘I’m really trying to raise awareness of primary bone cancer as it often affects children/teens and is very aggressive.

‘‘The treatments haven’t progressed much and are gruelling, my son really suffered with his chemo regime.

‘‘So basically I’m wanting to raise money now for a charity that is not only looking into cures but improving treatment options for sarcoma cancers.’’

Since March 28, Helen has been sleeping in a tent in her back garden to raise money for the charity.

Despite being very cold in March and April, Helen carried on and her tent is keeping dry – for now.

She said: ‘‘The worst problem is actually severe wind or bright mornings when the birds are incredibly noisy and chirpy!’’

Helen is also taking part in Orange Wednesday, July 14, which is run by the charity to raise money.

She will be eating only orange food all day, with orange coloured breakfast provided by Heaths Kitchen in Stockton Heath, and orange coloured lunch provided by the Bus Stop in Stockton Heath – all free of charge.

Helen shares all her fundraising events and updates on her Instagram page, Grief Aloud.

So far, Helen has raised £1,560 for the Bone Cancer Trust.

To donate to Helen’s fundraiser, you can visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/helen-flitcroft1