Fun football day in Yapton in memory of Billy, 3

Some £1,900 was raised at an annual football tournament in memory of a Yapton toddler.

The proceeds from the competition staged to remember Billy Lloyd delighted his family.

Billy was struck down by meningitis at the age of three-and-a-half.

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The annual football event is his family's way of staging a public tribute to him and his love of the sport and raising money for Meningitis UK to eradicate the disease which claimed his life.

Billy's aunt, Sally Clanfield, said: "It's fantastic to have raised that amount. It's a lot more than we managed last year and it's a lot more than the 1,000 we expected.

"Everything went really well and the day was a brilliant success.

"It was a fun day but, because we have lost Billy, it was hard as well. We just don't want anyone else to go through what we went through."

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She held a barbecue and other activities on the day. The tournament was organised by Billy's dad, Gareth Lloyd, and family friends.

More than 100 footballers in 14 teams of eight took part on King George V playing field in Yapton.

The winners were Barnham. But the lasting result of the tournament will be seen in the research labs where Meningitis UK is seeking to find a vaccine for meningitis B '“ the strain of the deadly bug which killed Billy in April 2005.

Spencer Dayman, Meningitis UK's founder, paid tribute to the efforts of Billy's family.

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"The devastation experienced by them reinforces the importance of finding a vaccine sooner rather than later," he said.

"Every penny they raise will go towards this single focus and our ultimate goal to spare people the heartache of losing a loved one to meningitis."

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