Singers inspired by young campaigner hand cheque to support group

The Flitwick Singers handed a cheque for just under £1,600 to the Bedfordshire ME Support Group after being moved by Becki Luscombe’s story.

Music student Becki had been suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome, better known as ME, anorexia and borderline personality disorder, but despite these challenges successfully campaigned to have supermarkets remove “mental patient” Halloween costumes from their shelves in 2013, and was a ‘voice’ for mental health charity Mind.

She had voluntarily entered a therapy centre when she took her own life.

Her mother Sue, a member of the choir, said: “It was Becki’s final wish that her experiences should be used to help others.”

The Flitwick Singers staged a series of fundraising concerts last year, with some £500 of the total being raised by the sale of singer Laurie Arnold’s home-made jam,

Musical director Angie Woodcraft presented the cheque to the Bedfordshire ME Support Group’s coordinator John Chisholm, who said: “This wonderful donation will help us provide much-needed equipment and information for ME sufferers in the county.”

The Group works closely with Bedfordshire’s NHS Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Clinic, based in Dunstable, whose patients will also benefit from the resources.

M.E., or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, affects an estimated 250,000 people in the UK. It can cause overwhelming fatigue, poor sleep and concentration, and persistent pain. A quarter of sufferers may also be bedridden and hypersensitive to light, smell, or sound. Sixty per cent die from heart failure, cancer, or suicide, yet it is not fully understood.

The Support Group gives sufferers and their families the chance to meet and for their condition to be accepted and can be contacted at 01525 750078.

For more information about Flitwick Singers, email [email protected]