STAFF at a Barry betting shop have raised nearly £1500 and secured a dedicated bench in memory of a young colleague.

Twenty-four-year-old Jade Louise Marks Brooks died in May from leukaemia and her Ladbroke colleagues, at the shop, raised the cash for the Teenage Cancer Trust and the Porthkerry Park bench.

Corinne Louch, who worked with Jade at Broad Street, Barry, shop started an online fundraising effort to keep her memory alive and help young people suffering with similar illnesses.

Donations came from friends, co-workers family members and those in the community who knew Jade.

Ladbrokes area manager Val Brown arranged for Vale MP Alun Cairns to present Ms Louch with an additional £500 cheque for Jade’s memorial fund.

Ms Louch said her colleague was much-loved and a “true inspiration who touched all of our lives”.

She added that her co-worker would have been “chuffed” by all the donations to a good cause.

Vale MP, Mr Cairns said: “Jade’s passing was a tragedy for everyone who knew her. I am very impressed at the way that Corrine and her colleagues at Ladbrokes have managed to achieve something positive from the collective grief, with both a dedicated bench to remember Corrine and a sizeable donation to charity.”