Jack Grealish donates £5k to 20-year-old's leukaemia fight

Manchester City and England footballer Jack Grealish has donated £5,000 to help pay for a man's leukaemia treatment in America.

Dylan Lamb, 20, from Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, was recently told his cancer had returned and he has perhaps months to live.

Friends and family are aiming to raise £1m to get him to the United States for possible treatment.

Mr Lamb's mother said Grealish's support had been tremendous for him.

Kim Veitch said: "When you're told by your consultant that you've got weeks maybe months to live it takes a lot to keep him upbeat and this is just tremendous to him."

She said he was "blown away" by all the support he had been given.

Mr Lamb was 19 and in his first year of university when he found out he had leukaemia.

When he was given the news the cancer had returned, he was told he needed a further stem cell transplant.

But his family said he must first get into remission and for that he needs CAR-T treatment which is not currently available for his age group in the UK, but which can be paid for as a clinical trial in the United States.

The NHS said CAR-T treatment involves altering immune cells in a laboratory to attach to and kill cancer cells.

As well as online appeals for donations, friend Fred Trevelyan and others will attempt the Three Peaks Challenge to raise funds.

He's a key member of our group all of us lads we're like a family and none of us could do life without him," Mr Trevelyan said.

The donation from Jack Grealish meant a lot, he said, because most of their group were football fans and they were "all overcome by emotion" to see someone "who is so busy has taken time out of their day to help".

So far, the appeal has raised close to £150,000.

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