A charity fundraiser is being held at the Eldon Pub, Plungington, on Saturday (24 March), to help raise awareness of epilepsy.

The event, which will raise money for Epilepsy Action, is taking place in aid of Purple Day, the International Day for Epilepsy, which falls on 26 March each year.

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Staff and customers will be getting involved in a range of activities to raise money in order to support those living with epilepsy.

There’ll be a bouncy castle, a raffle, face painting, cake stalls, a Minion Mascot, lots of games with prizes, and even a sponsored head shave.

Laura Coates, who works behind the bar at the Eldon Pub, got involved with the charity after her son was diagnosed with the disorder 18 months ago, and hopes to raise over £1000 from the event.

Epilepsy Action provides a helpline for those living with epilepsy and is the only epilepsy helpline in the UK that is accredited by the NHS.

And Purple Day focuses on supporting the life-changing work that this helpline does.

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At the moment the charity is unable to man the phones 24/7, so by supporting Epilepsy Action on Purple Day, fundraisers will be helping to raise the cash needed to ensure the Action Helpline can stay open in the evenings and weekends, to help those who have nowhere else to turn.

Colette McComb, whose husband, Bill, suffers from epilepsy is taking on the brave challenge of shaving her head for the charity, and wants people to be made aware of the disorder and the signs associated with it.

She said: “My husband Bill has suffered with epilepsy most of his life and while he has me to care for him, some people don’t have anyone, and these are the people who could be at risk.

“Laura and I decided to organise this charity funday to try and make people more aware of all the different signs of someone going into an epileptic fit.”

Mrs McComb, of Plungington, continued: “Bill has collapsed in the street and people have just walked past him thinking he is drunk.

“We hope that in the future people could be issued with ID bracelets so that if someone does collapse, a passer-by could see the bracelet and hopefully get them the help they need.”

The fundraising event is free to attend and will start at 1pm at the Eldon Pub, Eldon Street.