Hastings man to be remembered at football match

Hastings United will be playing #Hashtag United at home and the game will be dedicated to Josh Alexander and the charity set up in his honour.

The event is on Saturday, April 19.

Josh, 21, and Jessica Poole, 18, died in a collision in Kent in June 2023.

Josh, who worked at Tenterden Leisure Centre in Kent, was described as having the 'kindest soul' by his family.

He worked alongside the team at Active Hastings to deliver the Weight Management groups which his family said he was so passionate about.

The #DoItForJosh charity was set up in his memory.

A football tournament dedicated to his memory, which was held last September, raised more than £1,000.

It was the second such event to be held, following a similar one in September 2023, which raised almost £4,300 for charity along with fundraising raised from Josh’s mum, Becky Alexander and her run group running the Brighton marathon.

Becky said: “Hastings United will be playing #Hashtag United at home on April 19 and the game will be dedicated to Josh and the charity. Staff from East Sussex College will be at the event promoting the charity and they have organised the fundraising for this.

“Our charity is still very small but we are gradually building and have made some great progress so far.

“We have funded two 12-week weight management programmes for Active Hastings, and an eight-week men’s mental health kick-boxing programme for Hastings Kombat Academy (HKA).

“Tenterden Sports centre held ‘Josh’s Big Weekend’ last year, encouraging people to take part in a range of sports and fitness activities.

“We have run two successful football tournaments with the support of Horntye Sports Centre and Active Hastings and have a third planned for September.

“We currently have a programme in place that is running throughout the year. Fun Run Bingo is designed to encourage people to be more active. The challenge is to complete 21 different run or walks throughout the year with all participants receiving a t-shirt and finishers medal which have been sponsored by JT Embroidery and Play Sports.

“Heart and Sole Runners, including myself, ran the Brighton marathon last year and in May are running a 31-mile Ultra Marathon from Horsham to Brighton.”