DARTS-LOVERS will get the chance to compete against a professional in Linthwaite to help raise money for charity.

Darts player Andy Smith – dubbed the Pie Man – will be showing-off his skills at Broad Oak Bowling Club in Linthwaite tomorrow to help raise money for children affected by cancer.

The event will be raising cash for Ruddi’s Retreat – which sends children and their families for much-needed breaks to a holiday home near Filey.

It comes after the bowling club – which has chosen the cause as its charity this year – raised £1,500 by holding a 24-hour snookerthon last month.

Kevin Baxter, 22, and Adam Harper, 43, took up the challenge to keep potting through the night.

They completed 102 frames from 7.30pm to 7.30pm the next night, only stopping for a 45-minute break at 5am and short toilet breaks in between.

Kevin said: “When we finished we sat down and that’s when I started to swell up.

“The biggest challenge for me was to make sure we raised as much money as possible for Ruddi’s Retreat.”

The charity was founded by Linthwaite woman Ali Jones after her three-year-old son Ruddi was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer when he was just six months old.

Ruddi was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma – a rare form of soft tissue cancer – and had to undergo six gruelling months of chemotherapy followed by an eight-hour operation at St James’s Hospital, Leeds, to remove his bladder, prostate and the cancer tumour.

He and his family – including dad Craig and sister Ellys – then travelled to Florida for pioneering treatment.

Ruddi became the first British baby to undergo proton therapy as an alternative to radiotherapy.

But it has left him suffering from rickets after his kidneys stopped absorbing enough vitamin D.

Ali was delighted by the snooker duo’s fundraising efforts.

She said: “I was absolutely amazed by it.

“I had never even met Adam before but they have just done so much for Ruddi’s Retreat and they want to do more for the charity which is fantastic.

“Seeing people doing things like that just makes you feel it’s all been worthwhile.

“The money they have raised is brilliant and will help us send 15 families to Ruddi’s Retreat.”

The darts event, on July 13, will include an auction, pie and pea supper and the chance to play against the champion.

Tickets are priced between £10 and £15 and are available by calling Ali Jones on 07587 080904.