AN ANNUAL fun day in memory of a 17-year-old who tragically lost his life has raised £7,000 for the Brain Tumour Charity.

Dave Smithies, a popular sportsperson in Dolgellau, lost his life in 2006 and is commemorated every year by his family at the ‘Dave Smithies Fun Day’ held on the Marian Mawr.

This year almost 300 footballers turned up to play in a mini tournament and to participate in a skills session put on by Bala FC.

They were joined by hundreds more people who came along to pay their respects.

A staggering £6,910 was amassed, with The Brain Tumour Charity benefitting from the proceeds this year.

Greg Smithies, Dave’s brother, was as thankful as ever.

“I feel like I repeat myself every year but I cannot explain how grateful we are as a family,” he told the Cambrian News.

“I just want to thank everyone who turned up, who played football, who sponsored us, or who donated. It’s just incredible.

“My family, too, have been my rock as ever.

“Special thanks to David Hughes of The Unit gym, Rhydymain who held a 24-hour sparathon in his business and raised £700 for us.

“Fair play, he’s a young lad, working hard and it was an incredible event, I went along and couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

“There were so many people there, it was fantastic.”

Every year the pot from the Smithies Fun day goes to a different charity.

This year, in honour of local resident Steffan Owen, the money went to the Brain Tumour Charity.

Steffan, who suffers with a brain tumour himself, has raised thousands for the charity in recent years so Greg considered it a very worthy cause.

“Steffan’s great, he’s an inspiration,” he said.

“So many people would just lay down and whinge about what had happened to him but Steff just goes out and lives life to the full.

“I hope the money is put to good use.”

Next year, the Smithies Fun Day will celebrate its 10th year.

As a result, the Fun Day will shift to 27 May, a bank holiday Sunday, in order to make next year’s the “biggest event yet”.