STAFF and regulars at a village pub have raised £15,000 in memory of a friend.

Mark Forster, known as Marco, died in October last year, aged 26, after a bone marrow transplant failed to save him from leukaemia.

Friends at the Burton House pub, in Burnopfield, near Stanley, County Durham, where he lived, organised a range of fundraising events.

The money collected has been split between Leukaemia Research and ward eight of Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary, where Mr Forster was a patient.

Celebrities who contributed included model Nell McAndrew, whose sister works in the village, and football legend Malcolm MacDonald, who gave a talk at the pub.

Much of the fundraising was organised by David Robson and John Woods, of the pub's football team, Burton House FC.

Pub landlord Reg Tompkins said: "Marco was a very popular lad, a well- known face around the Burton House and a staunch supporter of the team, so it is no surprise that everyone has worked so hard in his memory.

"Virtually everyone knows someone who has been touched by leukaemia, so people have given generously towards two very worthy causes."