Huge support for young father facing just weeks left to live

More than £3,000 was donated in 24 hours to a fund which will help care for the daughter of 32-year-old Harley Curran after he was diagnosed with terminal bowel cancer.

Five days into the campaign, the total has now passed £5,000, which friends say is testament to the generosity of the Sutton Courtenay man they describe as the 'life and soul of the party.'

Once doctors decided not to continue with a planned operation late last week, Mr Curran married his long-term girlfriend Vanessa on the roof of the Churchill Hospital in Oxford on Friday evening.

Harley Curran (r) with daughter Lyanna and wife Vanessa. Credit: Mickey Steptoe 

Preparations were being made yesterday to allow him to go home and spend precious time with his new wife and their two-year-old daughter Lyanna.

Friend Sam Bailey, 24, created the fundraising campaign and said: “He is like a brother to me.

“We initially thought he had until Christmas but it’s been a downward slope and now it looks like weeks rather than months.

"He spent 90 per cent of his time in Didcot and he is known all over as the most happy-go-lucky person.

“He supported so many people over years and years and now this is our chance to pay him back in a small way.

"It’s been an incredible response. We haven’t had to promote it, it has just taken off on its own."

Sam Bailey and Harley Curran M.STEPTOE

Money raised on the GoFundMe website will be put towards buying the keen gamer an X-Box and take him out on trips to much-loved local spots, if he is well enough.

It will also fund his care and make him comfortable at home and provide support for his young family.

The cancer was only detected a month ago by which time it was already at a late stage and his condition deteriorated rapidly with him being admitted to the Churchill last weekend with fluid on his lungs.

Older sister Marie Curran, 43, one of six siblings, said the family's priority now was to 'make memories' with his little girl.

She added: "We are all over-whelmed by the love everyone has shown.

"We knew he meant a lot to a lot of people but we didn't expect this level of support.

"He has always been there for anyone if they needed help.

"Whether it was to be there and listen to your problems or something simple like moving furniture - if you needed him, he was always around.

"He is loved by his family and has the most amazing friends."

James Miller, 30, a friend for nearly two decades, helped to organise Friday's wedding with less than a day's notice.

He managed to source a cake, bouquets of flowers and rings for the couple as friends pulled together to organise the ceremony.

He said: "It was beautiful, and just goes to show how special he is."

Best man Mikki Hall, 33, travelled from Torquay to spend the last four days at Mr Curran's hospital bed.

He said: "The amount of people who have come in to see him at a moment's notice is amazing.

"I've known him since we were 12 when he was there for me at one of the worst points of my life.

"He has this ability to connect with people, it is rare to meet someone like him.

"I spoke with him briefly in hospital and he wanted to let everyone know how much the support has meant to him. It is keeping him going."

Mr Curran grew up in Sutton Courtney and is well known as a keen skater and bike rider at Didcot skate park.

Friends remember enjoying camping trips, bike riding and playing guitar together while growing up listening to heavy metal music.

Nick Kilbee, 32, who lived has a few doors down from Mr Curran for much of his life, said: "His personality is infectious.

“He’s always been the life and soul of the party. He has an aurora around him and has had an impact on everyone he meets."

Another friend Stephen Stone, 30, said Mr Curran was refusing to give up, despite the severity of his illness.

He added: "He's like a magnet, he draws in positivity and good times.

"He is so easy going and has never fallen out with anyone.

"You can't be sad because he is not sad.

"If he is fighting then you have to fight too."