Players pitch in to help pay for their friend's funeral

A charity tournament took place on the artificial pitch at Priory School, in Fawcett Road, Southsea, to raise money to go towards the funeral of Chrissy Denman.

As reported in The News, Chrissy, 40, from Landport, was found dead on a grassed area in Lake Road, Landport, on February 8.

His friends James Kerridge and Jimmy Wall organised the football event to help his family pay for his funeral.

Jimmy, 36, from Landport, said: ‘We all come from Landport, where there is a real community and where people pull together to help one another when times are hard.

‘We come from an area where everyone knows each other and we all want to help.’

About 40 people braved the downpour to take part and around £500 was raised from the night.

Chrissy’s brother Jamie Denman, 35, from Eastney, thanked everybody for their efforts and said his brother, who was an avid Manchester United fan, would have been proud.

He said: ‘Around 40 people turned up, which considering the weather, was really good.

‘Even my mum and dad turned up, with the dog, which was nice.

‘Chrissy would not have believed it to see everyone here, he didn’t realise how many people cared about him.’

Chrissy, a butcher, went to St Luke’s School in Portsmouth. His friends said that despite suffering from depression, Chrissy was always kind and that he ‘put on a brave face’ and he would always be pictured smiling.

Jamie said: ‘You can see the sort of person he was by the number of people who turned up in the cold and rain.’

Despite the wet, Landport Lions, captained by Jimmy, won the tournament on Wednesday night, scoring 5-2 against the Milton Moles, 
and beating the Portsea Panthers.

After the main games, there was an eight-a-side match, before the players took refuge in the Good Companion pub.

The friends hope to raise £4,000 and they’ve raised more than £2,000 so far.

To make a donation go to crowdfunding.justgiving.com/jamie-denman.