Video: Live doorstep gig in memory of inspirational Burnley nurse lifts lockdown blues for surprised neighbours

Well known wedding singer Gavin Young performed his doorstep gig in Greenbrook Road to celebrate the 63rd birthday of well known Burnley nurse Karen Archer, who died in 2019 after a courageous five year battle against cancer.

In honour of one of Karen's favourite groups, Gavin sang four Take That songs and residents sang and danced along on their drives and front gardens.

Resident Anna Brown said: "Everyone came to their front doors and windows to listen to Gavin.

"It was a brilliant way to lift everyone's spirits and we loved it."

The gig was organised by Karen's daughter, Vickie Wilson, to celebrate her mum's birthday and also raise cash for a charity that is close to their family.

BK's Heroes is the legacy of brave Ben King who tragically died in 2016 at the age 27 after a long battle against renal failure and brain cancer.

Inspirational Ben suffered with kidney problems from the age of five but he refused to let this hold him back in life.

A former Nelson and Colne College catering student, who had worked at the Sparrowhawk in Fence and the ACE Centre in Nelson, Ben received a kidney from his dad Dave when he was 17 and only discovered he had cancer several years later when it started to show signs of failure.

Ben launched the charity before his death and set himself a target of raising £10,000 for the renal and neuro wards are the Royal Preston Hospital. Sadly he only managed to get to half of that total before his death.

Honouring the wishes of their son, Ben's parents, Dave and Fiona King of Reedley, have continued as trustees of the charity that, up to last year, has raised the staggering total of £156,000.

Ben was one of Karen's patients while she was working as a staff nurse on the children's ward at Burnley General Hospital. A framed photograph of the two together, presented to Karen on her 60th birthday by the Kings, was the inspiration for Vickie to devote herself to fundraising for the charity.

Although the pandemic has put paid to many of her plans Vickie, who is mum to five-year-old Henry, has thrown herself wholeheartedly into doing as much fundraising as possible for BK's Heroes by running collections, having t shirts printed and she also took part in a sponsored sky dive and organised a charity raffle.

Vickie said: "I just want to help this wonderful charity as much as I can.

"Gavin's doorstep gig was amazing. I wanted to do something to remember my mum on her birthday in the way she would have wanted and also raise awareness of BK's Heroes at the same time.

"It was fantastic to see everyone at their front doors enjoying the gig and also asking about the charity and what they could do to help."

Last year Vickie raised £5,000 for Pendleside Hospice with a charity ball in honour of her mum. This was boosted to £7,000 when Vickie and her brother, Wayne Lord, each donated £1,000 to the cause.

Vickie staged the event to give people who had lost someone close to them a chance to celebrate their lives.

And many went along to celebrate the life of Karen who, during her career, also worked as a diabetic specialist at Burnley General Hospital. Karen was also a paediatric sister specialising in diabetes in children at Nuffield Private Hospital in Leeds. Karen was lauded for her dedication to her role and still features on posters promoting the hospital.

Karen, who was a student at the former St Hilda's RC High School in Burnley, still continued to work even after her cancer diagnosis and subsequent rounds of chemotherapy.

If you would like to make a donation to BK's Heroes please click HERE