A 'family' of 50 lads who grew up playing football together on the same Bootle estate have rallied round their childhood friend as he battles an aggressive form of cancer.
When Eugene McIntyre, 53, was diagnosed with bowel cancer earlier this year, his mates formed a kitty which they pay into each month to help him with his bills. At a big reunion at The Albion on Hawthorne Road on Saturday, they raised £1,200 for the dad-of-two, who was forced to give up his concrete manufacturers job after starting chemotherapy.
His friend Stephen Jones, 52, said: "All us lads have stuck together. We're like a family. We're on a council estate, so that's how we all met. A lot of us were in Hillside High School and Christchurch is just across the road, so we were all in the same area.
