Sunderland woman's fundraising mission for granddaughter with rare condition and husband who died at 46

A Sunderland woman who has raised thousands for charity in memory of her husband has now launched a fundraising drive for her granddaughter who suffers from a rare condition.

Debbie Lewis Atwill, 53, dived into fundraising following the death of her husband Lee who tragically died from small cell lung cancer aged just 46 in 2018, raising thousands for St Benedicts Hospice.

And after her granddaughter was diagnosed with type 1 spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a genetic condition that makes the muscles weaker, she set out to raise money for Spinal Muscular Atrophy UK.