Inspiring Leeds six-year-old with leukaemia donates over 1,200 Easter eggs to Candlelighters charity

The Roundhay community rallied together to support local lad Freddie Isherwood in his quest to provide Easter eggs to the other young patients he had spent time with on the children’s ward at Leeds General Infirmary.

Freddie’s mother, Becky Hughes, explained that “inquisitive” Freddie decided to start collecting the eggs after asking whether the Easter Bunny still comes to the hospital.

Becky said: “I told him children still get eggs but the Easter bunny can’t deliver them to the hospital and he asked ‘Can I get some for the poorly girls and boys having special medicine like me?’”

Word quickly spread about the heart-warming project and now 1,231 have been donated to Candlelighters, a Leeds charity that supports children in Leeds with cancer and their loved ones.

“They have become like family”, said Becky. “From the first day that Freddie got diagnosed last November they have been just amazing.

“You don’t want to be involved in a situation like this but I’m so grateful to have them. They love Freddie like their own.”

She added: “There’s always been someone from Candlelighters there. Even if it’s a long day, you know they are there.”

She said that Roundhay School, where Freddy and his two siblings attend, got involved with the collection and as word spread about the imitative there was further donations from local businesses, a football academy and even the GP surgery.

“Everyone’s been amazing”, said Becky. “It’s just started as something small. We were only aiming for 150 - 100 for Candlelighters and 50 for the oncology ward.

“It even got to Harrogate where I’m a student midwife. It just went wild, basically.”

A further delivery is expected, Becky said, that should take the total over 1,300.

Freddie visited the Candlelighters office by Woodhouse Square on Wednesday to drop off the eggs and was greeted by the Easter bunny.

The chocolate eggs are now set to be donated around the children’s wards at Leeds General Infirmary to the patients and their siblings, with Becky saying: “There’s plenty to go around.

“Candlelighters said there’s so many that even staff are buying them so the money can go to Freddy’s JustGiving page.”

Freddie’s treatment is expected to continue until at least December 2026, at which point it’s hoped that he can ring the bell at LGI to signal his recovery.

Becky said: “Knowing that we have Candlelighters by our sides up to that day and beyond removes a huge weight from ours and Freddie’s shoulders.”

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A spokesperson for Candlelighters said: “We’d like to say a huge thank you to Team Freddie for choosing to fundraise and collect Easter Eggs for Candlelighters and the children we support. We were overwhelmed with the number of Easter Eggs Freddie and his mum, Becky, collected.

“Not only have they donated so many Easter eggs to the children and siblings that Candlelighters support, they have also run several Easter hamper raffles and raised over £1500 already. The generosity of everyone involved will make a lovely difference this Easter to the lives of children with cancer and their families.”

They added: “150 children are diagnosed every year with cancer in Yorkshire, instantly turning lives upside down. The fundraising will bring light to these families in the darkest of times, whether that be through services such as our talking therapies for children to help them cope with their cancer diagnosis, special trips for siblings to support children whose brother or sister has cancer, or the research we invest in to save lives and reduce suffering of children with cancer.

“We are so grateful for their support.”

To support Freddie’s fundraising efforts, visit his JustGiving page and for more information about Candlelighters and how you can support children like Freddie, visit www.candlelighters.org.