TWO events held at the weekend are expected to have raised more than £3,000 to support the creation and activities of MIKES Trust.

The charity is being launched by the family of Mike Allen who died after a stabbing incident in Castle Canyke Road, Bodmin, in April. 

The organisation aims to support young people to make positive choices to reduce knife crime and youth violence.  

Saturday saw a MIKES charity rugby tournament being held alongside family entertainment, while on Sunday the charity was the primary beneficiary from the Bikers Meet for Mike, a motorbike display organised by Bodmin Rotary Club in Priory Park.   

The total includes £300 from Bodmin’s Community Fire Station, presented to the trust at the rugby event, and £1,267.64 from the tournament itself.  

As much as the events were intended to raise money for MIKES Trust, they were hoped, along with the Bodmin Carnival, to, in the words of Kevin, the father of Mike Allen, to ‘bring happiness back to Bodmin’ after very distressing times.  

Among those taking part in the tournament were Mike’s former Bodmin Rugby Club team-mates, with the event hosted at the club’s Clifden Park.  

Large crowds visited the event which saw money raised through a raffle, the sale of merchandise, donations from stallholders and a hog roast.  

The bikers event featured bike groups putting their machines on display. 

Mayor Philip Cooper, who attended the Bikers Meet for Mike, said: “It was great to see huge crowds supporting this event.”

Kevin, who is a driving force behind the charity with his daughters Rebecca Dunstan and Alicia Puckey, said: “The generosity of strangers has been so heart-warming for us all at MIKES Trust. Now comes the hard part, how to spend a limited budget on huge issues.  

“To this end, we are already talking to youth groups, other fundraisers and council representatives etc with a simple question: How do we spend this precious money wisely, how do we make a real difference to the safety and prospects of youngsters in Bodmin?”