Cake sale at Sompting park reopening held to remember classmate

Hamble Recreation Ground and Playground will be reopened by the parks team from Adur and Worthing Councils at 10am this morning.

The guest of honour is to be Jack Chandler, aged six.

The Sompting Village primary school pupil will be selling cakes in aid of Harvey’s Gang, a national charity named after one of his former classmates – Harvey Buster Baldwin.

Harvey lost his battle with Leukemia in October 2014, having contracted the disease at just 4 years old.

Jack said: “I got the idea to do this because I read a Horrid Henry book called Horrid Henry gets Rich Quick and he had a sale to get money for himself.

“I wanted to do this but the other way round – I don’t want the money, I want to give it to people that need it more than me.

“I wanted the money to go to Harvey’s Gang charity because Harvey went to my school.”

Along with the help of 15 friends and family, including his four-year-old brother Henry, Jack will spend his Easter holidays baking a range of cakes.

Jack said: “I could have sold cakes outside of my house but then I thought that not many people would pass by, so I wouldn’t make much money.

“Then, I thought when the park is finished it will be really busy there, so we could sell the cakes at the park.”

The refurbishment of the playground followed an extensive consultation process with young people, a council spokesperson said.

Children were given the chance to let the council team know what new play equipment they wanted and their ideas have helped form the finished design, confirmed the spokesperson.

The refurbishment cost £88,00, which included contributions of £3,000 from Sompting Parish Council and £15,000 from Sompting Big Local.

Councillor Emma Evans, executive member for environment, said: “Of course we were delighted to help Jack out with his fund raising plans.

“What he is doing is very admirable, and we are thrilled he wanted to use our park to sell his cakes and to raise as much money as possible for this local charity, one that obviously has huge support here in Adur and in Sussex.”

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