TWO days of fundraising and a trio of events helped a Minehead family raise almost £700 to help the fight against a potentially fatal disease which struck their young child.

Toby Howe was just four when he contracted meningitis, and although he was lucky and suffered few lasting effects, his parents Becky and Stuart have never forgotten the trauma of the experience.

And they also remain indebted to the support received from the charity Meningitis Now - formerly Meningitis UK and the Meningitis Trust.

So the couple and other members of the family, including Toby's grandparents Sandra and Peter Slade, staged three separate fundraising events last weekend to boost the charity's funds and raise awareness of a campaign to vaccinate children against the disease.

The first - a non-uniform day at Minehead First School, where Toby, now seven, is a pupil - brought in £140.

And an evening quiz, which attracted 14 teams and received a helping hand with prizes from supermarket Tesco, raised an impressive £412.

The final event - a coffee morning and cake stall - resulted in another £127 being added to the total, which was boosted further by a number of donations.

"The events were all incredibly successful and we are absolutely thrilled with the amount we have raised," said Sandra, who is Becky's mum.

"We had a few cakes left over from the coffee morning so I sold them at Minehead Baptist Church last Sunday.

"It was a lot of hard work but it was worth it and we are all thrilled, particularly Becky.

"After a fundraising toddle-waddle she held last year, she is now thinking of what to do next year."

Photos: Steve Guscott