A COMMUNITY is rallying round a mother with terminal cancer by raising thousands of pounds for her and her family.

Members of staff at Tesco Extra, next to Tower Park in Poole, launched a fundraising campaign following the news their co-worker Becky Heeks had been diagnosed with cancer.

They have so far raised almost £7,000 in just over a week for Becky, a 33-year-old mum of two boys.

The store’s fundraising efforts have even caught the attention of AFC Bournemouth player Tyrone Mings who recently donated £1,000 to the family.

Posting on the Justgiving page, the defender wrote: “I don’t know you personally but I have sisters and nephews and if they were in this unfortunate situation I’d love for them to be able to make memories together. Stay strong xxx”.

Store manager of the Tesco store, Andy Hossack, said Becky had been working for the supermarket for 14 years, and her colleagues included her husband and parents.

Andy said the goal of the fundraising page was to raise as much money as possible so Becky and her family can make some “special memories” in the time they have left together.

“Becky was diagnosed with cancer a few months ago, but sadly the treatment was ineffective. They’ve stopped treatment now so the family are going to do as much as they can together.

“We started a campaign – Bring it to Becky – and within two days we raised £5,000.

“Ideally, we’d like to try and get to £20,000 to cover all the costs of holidays and day trips.”

He added: “It’s been an incredibly emotional and equally inspiring time since starting the fundraising. The whole store has got behind this, and we want to keep the momentum going.”

A whole range of fundraising activities have been planned to raise money for Becky and her family including a cake baking competition, pamper evening, golf day, and a bike ride – Andy is even going to shave his head.

Amber Parslow, who has worked with Becky at the store for the past 10 years, said: "Becky is such a lovely lady and a great friend and colleague. "Everyone at Tesco Tower Park loves her so much. We're all just trying to do everything we can to make this time as special as possible for her and her family. Raising this money is just our way of showing them all how much they mean to us."

The charity golf day takes place at Ferndown Forest on Sunday, May 14, from 9.45am. To take part, email jamesajackson@btinternet.com.

To donate to Becky’s fund, visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/BeckyHeeks-makingmemories.