Zac’s plight sparks generous gestures in Telford
The plight of Zac Oliver has sparked acts of generosity across the county and one young football memorabilia collector showed he has a heart of gold by auctioning off one of his prized possessions.
Finnley Wiggan, a 13-year-old from Broseley, was so moved by Zac's family's efforts to raise £500,000 for treatment in the US, that he told his father, Darren, he wanted to auction off a signed shirt to help.
The Arsenal shirt, signed by the Spanish full-back Hector Bellerin, had been displayed on Finnley's wall since his dad bought it at a sportsman's dinner featuring Gunners legend Ray Parlour.
After putting it up for sale Finnley found a buyer, who agreed to pay £150 for the shirt.
But, that's where the story takes another heartwarming twist.
When Michael Harvey, who runs the fitness business No Gym Required, turned up at Finnley's house to collect the shirt he found out why Finnley was auctioning it and decided to let him keep it – and the £150 for Zac's campaign.
Finnley's father said: "We were moving house and he said 'I really want to do something for Zac, shall I auction off one of my shirts?'.
"Someone put a bid in, someone else put a bid in and then Mike said he would match it for £150.
"He had found out what he was auctioning it for and came round and when Finnley came downstairs Mike said 'how long have you had the the shirt for?' then gave him the money and gave him the shirt back too.
"He said 'it is such a kind gesture from such a young man, keep the shirt. If my young lad grows up to be half as generous a boy I will be very happy'."
Darren said that the whole community had been moved by the situation facing Zac, who is suffering from an extremely rare form of childhood leukaemia, called Near Haploid.
He said: "Everyone is just trying to do what they can, whether it is putting an event on or whatever fundraising they can do.
"It is my wife's 50th birthday and my mate's joint 40th and we are asking for donations for that. The whole town is coming together trying to get this lad the treatment he deserves. When you see a little boy in a situation like that it is heart breaking."
Finnley, who is actually a Telford AFC and Manchester United fan, plays for Broseley Youth Sports as a striker.
His dad said he was proud of his son's gesture.
He said: "Being such a caring boy he would do anything he can to help anyone. That's just his nature. I am so proud of him for what he has done."
