A TYWYN fund-raiser who has raised thousands of pounds to raise awareness for a condition that affects the ability to process an amino acid is gearing up for two more events.

Mark Edwards, who has the rare genetic condition Phenylketonuria, has completed a range of fund-raising events to help sufferers. He is raising money for the National Society for Phenylketonuria.

He is raising awareness about the congenital condition that leaves people with the condition unable to break down the amino acid phenylalanine. It can then build up in the body and blood and lead to brain damage.

Now Mark is continuing his efforts by playing in a charity celebrity football match before taking part in the Manchester 10k run the following week.

Mark has paid for warm-up shirts for the football match, which will take place in Brighton on Sunday, 13 May with celebrities, including Harvey Sylvester, from Rizzle Kicks, playing alongside former professional footballers such as Casper Ankegren, Anthony Barness and Adam Hinshelwood.

The warm-up shirts will include a new logo to raise awareness of PKU with Mark involved in helping get that logo in place.

Mark will be getting on the pitch during the match, and has also organised a raffle to raise funds closer to home.

Prizes have been donated by local businesses in the Tywyn area and the winning tickets will be picked by members of the two celebrity teams before they get onto the pitch.

He said: “We had a logo in mind and had it copyrighted as it was cheaper than registering it as a brand name.

“That’s something I didn’t want to do – brand a condition.

“As Brighton is quite far away from Tywyn I wanted to try and link this area with the event so had the idea of holding a raffle.

“We have had prizes donated from businesses, and are still open to offers, and the celeb team will draw the winning tickets before they go on the pitch.

“Both myself and the organisers are hoping to raise awareness into the PKU condition, having the celebs tweeting and posting their PKU and NSPKU shirts is a start.”

But Mark won’t be resting after the match, as he’ll be taking part in the Manchester 10k run the following week.

He said: “A week after the celebrity charity football match, I’ll be heading to Manchester again for the great Manchester 10k run.

“With all the overtime I’ve been doing I’ve had very little time to train, but the job I do means I’m running around most of the time. People say I’m crazy, but I enjoy it.

“I don’t have a target amount for the Manchester 10k, I’m just happy with whatever donation that comes in. Having two events for the same charity within a week, I can’t really expect anything more than what’s given.”

Mark has set up a fund-raising page for the events, which is available at https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MarkEdwards-NSPKU.

Raffle tickets are also currently available at Siop Bryn y Môr for £1 a strip.