"IT had to be fate"

From Barry to Dorset to Bristol and the Isle of Wight. The story of how a red balloon travelled 73 miles and found its way to a two-year-old girl undergoing cancer treatment contains so many strange coincidences that JAM Fund charity founder Paul Adamson believes it was meant to be.

Paul, who founded the charity after losing his five-year-old son Jamie to Leukaemia in 2004, has visited his son's grave every Christmas Day - Jamie's birthday - for the last 11 years, releasing one additional red balloon for each birthday missed.

Releasing 16 red balloons from Barry last Christmas, Paul decided to add a tag to each balloon, a tag featuring the JAM Fund logo - a charity that has raised £400,000 in just 10 years - and a note explaining that whoever found the balloon could nominate a child in need of the charity's help.

Although Paul wasn't expecting any replies, slowly they started arriving in his email inbox.

One was found by Tina James from Glastonbury, Somerset on Boxing Day. On March 17 a lady named Nicola Price found one in her back garden in Wimbourn, Dorset and another was found by Yvonne Thomas in Christchurch, also Dorset.

Then on March 28 a fourth was found in a town called Ferndown, Dorset by Sara Farrow.

Paul explained the strange turn in the tale that followed.

"For the last 10 years since the JAM Fund charity was established," he said, "I've attempted to get the London Marathon organisation to give us a guaranteed place via the charity ballot, and this year for the first time, the charity was successful.

"A few days after I was given the place I was contacted by a lady named Suzy Charman. Suzy had tried to enter the marathon but had been unsuccessful and asked if the charity had a place and agreed to raise sponsorship.

"Suzy lives in Bournemouth, but works every day in Ferndown, just a few hundred metres from where the balloon was found.

"Not only that, but the lady that found this balloon knows Suzy personally, but was totally unaware that Suzy was running for the JAM Fund."

Sara used her nomination to help a two-year-old girl named Perri who is from the Isle of Wight, but is currently in Bristol Children's Hospital with her mum.

Perri has recently been through traumatic bone marrow replacement therapy in her battle against cancer, a procedure that Paul's son Jamie was waiting for before he died.

Paul said: "I have been in contact with Perri's family and they requested that we pay for furniture, decor and furnishings to transform her bedroom into a 'Pink Princess Dreamland'.

"The charity has ordered and paid for these items and the family have been busy decorating Perri's room for when she returns home soon."

Reflecting on the set of coincidences that led to this good deed, Paul said: "I think the odds of a balloon travelling 73 miles, landing a few hundred metres from our official marathon runner and being found by her friend are pretty high.

"Those balloons could have landed anywhere and to land so close to Suzy and for her friend to find it I think is astonishing.

"When I released the balloons from Jamie's graveside, it was with the hope that Jamie would have a say in where they landed.

"It gives me comfort as his dad to think that this may have been the case."

Paul asked to thank Paul Mitchell from Penarth who is also representing the charity in the London marathon and also his friends and work colleagues who recently raised over £2,500 with a cross country bike ride in North Wales.Their efforts were also given a boost by Dow Corning Ltd.