Fundraisers are determined a family fun day will bring in the final £800 needed to get a Bob The Builder headstone for a brave Bradford teenager who fought a mystery condition all his short life.

Organisers of the fundraiser at The White Bear pub in Idle on Bank Holiday Sunday are keeping their fingers crossed that the sun will shine on their efforts to help Zak Simpson’s family pay their final respects to the 15-year-old, who died in 2011 and was buried at Thornton Cemetery.

His mum Simone Lawless, of Laisterdyke, said she had saved all his final disability living allowance benefits to pay for his funeral, but needed £1,600 to pay for the granite headstone that Zak would love.

Children’s charity REACT has paid half of the cost, but the rest is needed so the headstone can be put in place by summer.

“This is the last thing I can do for Zak. I brought him into the world, I was with him when he left it and I walked in front of his coffin to take him to his grave. The headstone is what he needs now,” said Miss Lawless.

Since Zak’s death she and her family have tirelessly raised funds to buy toys and give treats to other youngsters on children’s wards, at respite centres, at hospices and at children’s charity-run play centres across Bradford.

Miss Lawless said: “It has been my motivation since losing Zak. When he went I didn't just lose my son, I lost my friend and my world.

“He was such a special boy – every mother would say that, but he really was special – and he was so brave. He fought all his life. There were times in his final weeks I was told he would not make it, but then he’d come back to us. He did not want to give up, ever.

She added: “I don’t feel right asking for money for my son’s headstone so friends are doing it for me by organising this day at The White Bear.

“We hope it will make enough to pay for the memorial. I am so grateful to them.”

Zak had a medical condition so rare it had baffled doctors worldwide. His lung condition and inability to swallow meant he could not eat normally and had to be fed through tubes. He also needed to be given oxygen.

“We still don’t know what he died from. It says nothing on his death certificate, but then in life they could never give his condition a name either.

“We miss him so much,” said Miss Lawless.

The family fun day is on Sunday, May 26, at The White Bear, Idle, from 11am to 3pm.

To make a donation, telephone 07936 432201.