window.dotcom = window.dotcom || { cmd: [] }; window.dotcom.ads = window.dotcom.ads || { resolves: {enabled: [], getAdTag: []}, enabled: () => new Promise(r => window.dotcom.ads.resolves.enabled.push(r)), getAdTag: () => new Promise(r => window.dotcom.ads.resolves.getAdTag.push(r)) }; setTimeout(() => { if(window.dotcom.ads.resolves){ window.dotcom.ads.resolves.enabled.forEach(r => r(false)); window.dotcom.ads.resolves.getAdTag.forEach(r => r("")); window.dotcom.ads.enabled = () => new Promise(r => r(false)); window.dotcom.ads.getAdTag = () => new Promise(r => r("")); console.error("NGAS load timeout"); } }, 5000)
Skip to content

Young fans walking to London in memory of friend

Jacob Panons
BBC News, South East
Claire Byrd Three boys standing side-by-side with their arms around eachother.Claire Byrd
Jenson, Teddy and Archie (left to right) are going to trek about 60 miles

Three young Brighton fans are walking from the Amex to Tottenham for their club's final game of the season to raise money in memory of their friend.

Archie, 15, Jenson, 13, and Teddy Newnham, 18, are walking about 60 miles (96km) to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London in memory of Jenson's brother Leighton and to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

The group, accompanied by parents, set off from Brighton on Friday and were hoping to arrive for the Seagulls' 16:00 BST game against Tottenham on Sunday.

Archie said: "It just got me thinking about the early morning train journeys Leighton would have had with us and how we could do something in his memory and raise money for charity."

George Carden/BBC Six people stood in front of a hedge, which has a huge sign bearing Brighton and Hove Albion's blue and white seagull logo. The people, three of whom are teenagers and three others are older, all wear matching blue t-shirts and the man and woman to the right of the image are wearing blue tutu skirts.George Carden/BBC
Archie, Jenson, and Teddy, and some of their parents plan to reach Gatwick on the first day.

The group is planning to walk 27 miles (43km) to Gatwick Airport on the first day before making their way up to central London and then the game.

They are hoping other Brighton fans will them for the final stretch on Sunday.

Jenson, whose brother Leighton died from cancer in 2022 aged 15, said: "I really wanted to the walk in memory of my brother and to help raise money for Cancer Research [UK] so other families don't have to go through what we have.

"We've been overwhelmed by all of the and the fantastic response from the whole football community."

George Carden/BBC Three teenagers in matching blue shirts walking away from the camera outside the Amex stadium in Brighton. They are accompanied by a woman in a denim jacket and red skirt.George Carden/BBC
Archie, Jenson, and Teddy set off from the Amex just before 09:00 BST on Friday

Mr Newnham, who went to school in Hove with Leighton, added: "As soon as Archie told me about the walk I knew I should do it too.

"It's so unfair everything that Leighton and his family have missed out on."

Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.

More on this story
Related internet links