OVER £3,600 has been raised via a charity football match in honour of a much-loved Wrexham man who died earlier this year.

Karl 'Llama' Davies died aged 59 years old in March, following a short battle with cancer.

He had been an employee of JCB for over 40 years and his colleagues from that site recently held a charity football match in his honour and in aid of Nightingale House Hospice.

The team raised an incredible £3,622 for the charity via their in-house football tournament.

In a head-to-head match, over 700 spectators saw the Axels Plant take on the Gearbox Plant at Lex AFC in a football match to win the Karl ‘Llama’ Davies Cup.

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Phil Bathers, an Axel Assembler at JCB, discussed why the football tournament means so much to the team at JCB: “Karl worked at JCB for over 40 years. We wanted to do something that kept his name alive. I know that Karl’s family are forever grateful for the care Nightingale House provided him following his diagnosis, which is why we wanted to raise money for them.

"The hospice is a charity and relies heavily on money raised through events and fundraising to keep its doors open for people like Karl. The work they do is amazing! Everyone at JCB didn’t hesitate to choose Nightingale House as the charity for the football tournament.”

The Leader: The Leader: PICS: The two teams line up ahead of the charity football match in memory of Karl Davies.

All the players wore a top which had a photo of Karl, and everyone at the game observed a minute of applause as a tribute to him.

Ending the match with a fantastic score of 7-3, the Axles Plant were victorious on the day.

After the match, everyone headed to Maesgwyn Hall, where people enjoyed food and drinks.

Karl’s family presented the Axles Plant team with the Karl ‘Llama’ Davies Cup.

Corporate Fundraiser at Nightingale House Hospice, Sarah Povey, said: "It was wonderful to visit JCB transmissions and hear about the incredible efforts Phil and the team at JCB made to put on a fantastic Charity football match, raising funds in memory of their dear friend and colleague Karl.

"We are so grateful for their dedication and time. The amount raised will make such a difference to Nightingale House."

JCB say they are looking forward to making this football tournament an annual event in Karl’s memory, each time raising more money for Nightingale House Hospice.