Group raise cash staying awake for a full 24 hours while slaying dragons!

A group of intrepid adventurers have taken up the call to raise money for the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre by staying awake for a full 24 hours while slaying dragons and rescuing townsfolk in a series of virtual role playing games. The team behind this epic event has managed in previous years to raise thousands of pounds for other charities like MIND and Cancer Research UK and show no signs of stopping. This year has had its own challenges and the group has welcomed the chance to shake up the formula by moving the whole event online via video streaming. The move has proved surprisingly popular, with increasing interest in this year's event from outside of the North West and outside the UK altogether. The indefatigable crew plan to run the event via Twitch, Zoom and other platforms on the 20 March 2021 right through to the 20 March 2021, pausing only to prop open eyelids. Everyone involved is looking forward to having a good time and raising lots of money for such an important charity like Clatterbridge. The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre is 1 of the largest networked cancer centres in the UK. From 18 Hospitals across Merseyside and Cheshire, they host more than 240,000 patient appointments every year; offering pioneering chemotherapy, radiotherapy and proton therapy treatments. By choosing to support this charity, anybody donating will help to improve patient experience, fund vital research and the latest therapies and innovations in cancer treatment. There are still places available for anyone wanting to run a game, or to participate or donate to this worthy cause. Please visit:- 24hr-rpg.fyi/ for more information or find the event on Facebook by searching for:- '24HR RPG Game On.'

THE RSPCA are appealing for information after a terrified kitten was found dumped in a tied up carrier bag with a broken skull. The kitten, aged about 4 weeks old, was found when a man returning home from work heard a squealing sound coming from a hedgerow, in Brookside View, Haydock, St Helens. He went to see where the noise was coming from and saw the carrier bag. When he untied the bag he found the poor kitten inside crying. We are told that he could see the kitten's head was deformed and the poor puss kept falling over so he alerted the RSPCA. Animal rescuer Jenny Bethel was sent to the scene and she could see there was something wrong with the kitten as he was swaying and walking backwards. She took him for emergency veterinary treatment and he was then transferred to the RSPCA's Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre and Cattery, in Nantwich, where xrays revealed the poor kitten had a fractured skull. Due to the severity of the injury and pain the kitten was in, a vet decided the kindest thing to do was to put him to sleep. Jenny is now investigating and believes the kitten was subjected to the head trauma before he was put in the carrier bag.

Jenny told us that:- "The poor kitten must have been in severe pain and terribly frightened. What happened to this poor kitten could have been malicious or an accident but it then doesn't explain how he ended up alone, injured and scared tied inside a carrier. I am very keen to find the person who is responsible for this. I believe the kitten was with his mother until the day before he was found because he was of a good weight and was also clean. I am hoping someone may recognise the kitten and can identify who it belonged to or someone may have seen something suspicious in the area. I am just grateful he was found so he didn't have to suffer any longer on his own, but it was such a sad case to deal with."

The kitten was found on Wednesday, 3 February 2021, at about 4.30pm. Anyone with information should call the RSPCA appeals line on:- 03001238018. Throughout the winter months, the RSPCA expects to rescue thousands of animals from neglect, cruelty and suffering. Already this winter, we have received more than 82,000 calls, but the calls to our rescue line are not stopping so neither will we. To help our rescue teams continue to reach the animals who desperately need us, visit:- RSPCA.Org.UK and Join the Winter Rescue on Twiiter, using:- '#JoinTheRescue.'