THE mother of Skye Hall has told how a raccoon suit helped her face the world while fundraising in the wake of his death.

“I was crying inside it, but when you know you’ve got a job to do it helped me to get out,” said Sally Hall, who lost her five-year-old son in August last year.

The 37-year-old told the Oxford Mail of the pivotal role wearing the suit – named Zoom – played in helping to hide her tears when fundraising shortly after brave Skye’s death from radio-chemo neurotoxicity. He had battled a brain tumour for a year.

Mrs Hall, from Abingdon, said: “Zoom was created when I wanted to go out and fundraise, but I just could not bring myself to go out – so I went as Zoom the raccoon.”

Zoom will continue to play a role in helping the charity Blue Skye Thinking – set up by the Hall family – by helping to sell Christmas trees to families this weekend.

“In the early days after Skye died I knew I had a lot of appointments to keep to raise awareness for Blue Skye Thinking but was too grief-stricken, so wearing the mascot allowed me to go out,” said Mrs Hall.

Tomorrow Zoom will visit an Abingdon pub to continue his work for the charity, which raises money for research into alternative treatments for childhood cancers.

Mrs Hall said: “One of Zoom’s first outings was the John Radcliffe Hospital’s children’s Christmas party and we visited Skye’s friends in the ward. He was also at the Christmas parade last weekend – someone else who was grieving went as him.”

Mrs Hall and husband Andy, who have sons Jesse, four, and newborn Flynn, threw themselves into fundraising under the Blue Skye Thinking banner to help other children with cancer.

Zoom – dubbed the “looming raccoon” after the charity’s successful drive to create the world’s longest loom band – will help staff from Oxford Edens sell Christmas trees in aid of the cause tomorrow.

The event takes place at the Boundary House pub in Abingdon, from 10am to 3pm.

The forecourt of the pub in Oxford Road will be transformed into a pine forest for families to buy their Christmas trees and meet Zoom, who Skye helped design.

Ginny Power, owner of family business Oxford Edens, said she had two boys of a similar age to Skye and felt “really touched” by his story.

Tomorrow’s sale will be the first time the company has sold Christmas trees.

She added: “ Skye was so brave and no child should ever have to go through what he did .”

For more information, see blueskyethinking.org.