Burnley beauty therapist to raffle her own home in Pendle to raise funds for lifesaving cancer treatment
A Burnley beauty therapist is preparing to raffle off her own home to raise the cash she needs for life-saving cancer surgery.
Tickets will go on sale soon for a £800,000 four-bedroomed house in Roughlee, Pendle, which is owned by Claire Nutter and her partner Gary Dunn.
Claire was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2023 after suffering from intense headaches and spells of severe dizziness.
She has since had three operations, but doctors could only remove 50 per cent of the tumour. She has also endured chemotherapy, which unfortunately proved ineffective and with radiotherapy ruled out due to the severe side effects, Claire’s NHS options have now come to an end.
The only treatment available to her now is specialist surgery and therapy in Germany, which will cost around £350,000.
It was Gary, a builder, who came up with the idea of putting their home up as a raffle prize. He said: “We are so grateful for what people have done for us, but they can only do so much, and we felt like we were asking the same people all the time.
"I knew we had to come up with something different to give Claire the best chance to recover.”
Family, friends and supporters have staged a series of fundraising events including a red carpet ball, cricket tournament and coast-to-coast cycle ride. But despite their incredible efforts, the fundraising total stands at around £44,000, so they still have some way to go.
The raffle is expected to launch over the next couple of weeks, on a worldwide platform, and tickets will be available for just £2.50 each.
Claire said: “It doesn’t seem real at the moment and we haven’t really thought about where we would live if the house is won. But we will cross that bridge when we come to it.”
The 48-year-old, who is mum to 21-year-old Louie and Ray, 16, began her career as a teenager working at Clitheroe-based salon World of Nails. More recently, she had a salon based at Business First in Burnley.
On a GoFundMe page set up by Louie, brave Claire has thanked her supporters and expressed her determination to beat her tumour. She writes: “I feel really lucky to have had the treatments I’ve had, but I refuse to believe that there’s nothing out there for me and I’m not going down without a fight!
"I can’t express how grateful I am for everyone’s generosity and my heart bursts with love for each and every one of you.”