A CHARITY cricket match and family fun day will be taking place this weekend raising much-needed funds for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Derriford.

The day has been organised by the parents of four-year-old Albert Manning, who spent time in NICU when he was born battling Group B Strep Septicemia and Meningitis. Albert now spends a lot of time at Tavistock Cricket Club.

The club will be playing a charity match against a side that the NICU department has put together. There will also be stalls, a barbecue, games and lots more.

Albert's mother Kate Manning said: 'NICU has put together a team of dads that have all had children on the NICU unit. We hope to get as much support as possible for the event. The players have paid a small fee to play so we have already raised almost £200 but any amount made on the day will be brilliant.'

Kate said it would be great if they could raise near £1,000 to donate to NICU as a way of giving something back to the unit that cared for her son at such a worrying time.

She said: 'They saved Albert. Without them he would not have made it. And for him to have recovered without losing any limbs has been fantastic.

'They did an incredible job. The work they do is brilliant, especially when they are so short staffed. They don't just look after the children in the unit, they look after the parents too. They really are stars.'

The day runs from 11am to 3pm at Tavistock Cricket Club.