A FUNDRAISER for York brain tumour victim Emily Rhodes has launched a raffle with a difference.

Phil Bell will get the winner’s choice of word, phrase or business logo tattooed on his leg.

Phil and his wife Gill, of Huntington, are family friends of Emily’s parents Martin and Joanne, who emigrated from the Monkton Road area of York with their family to Perth in Australia about four years ago.

As The Press reported last week, Emily, 22, is terminally ill with a brain tumour, and needs a major operation this Friday. Her friends in York are trying to raise £5,000 to pay for her and her family to fly home after the surgery - and after she has married her fiancé Jamie Smith - to see friends and relatives for one final time.

Gill said: “We have been rooting for Emily since hearing she was unwell last summer and are gutted at the outcome.

“When we heard she wanted to come back for one last visit we wanted to help contribute to the fundraising pot, so we can help her make great memories whilst there is still time.”

She said she had decided to bake a cake and raffle it off but Phil had also wanted to do something, and so Jon Stewart of the Tattoo Room in Huntington had agreed to do a tattoo for him for free.

“We are asking people for £5 to enter with either a phrase, saying, film quote or even a business logo that Jon will tattoo on Phil’s leg,” she said.

“The winner will be drawn at random out of a hat, live on Facebook. We hope to raise a minimum of £500 doing this but are asking Press readers to vote in too.

“They can email me at gillianebell@yahoo.co.uk with their quote, text 07549825320 or Facebook message me.”

She said all entries must be with her by February 10 and a winner would be announced the next day.

She added that Jon had also offered to top up the fund by contributing a percentage of his takings for a day’s work.The raffle came as the fund, available at www.gofundme.com/our-emily-rhoads-fund, had reached £4000 by yesterday evening.