GOLFER Iain Ferrie has been handed around £25,000 to help with family expenses while he and his wife Gill mount a 24-hour vigil at the bedside of their son.
A sum of more than £15,000 was raised for the Westbury-based family at the Baby Ben Pro-Am fund-raising day at West Wilts Golf Club at Warminster where Iain is the assistant professional.
This follows spontaneous fund-raising orchestrated by a group of friends started with contributions from professionals throughout the West and Wales.
Then former Bowood and West Wilts professional Simon Swales brought in another £8,000 from a golf day at his present club Radyr in Cardiff.
Two-year-old Ben, who is at the Bristol Royal Children's Hospital, now faces five further weeks in intensive care while being treated with chemotherapy to remove a brain tumour.
The West Wilts day was run by pro Rob Morris, Bowood assistant Paul McLean - Ben's godfather - and a committee from the club led by director Wyndham Pigeon and Phil Harris.
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Iain, 32, said: "Never in a million years did we dream that something like this would happen. To receive such support is phenomenal. It is difficult to put our feelings into words. To have two such brilliant days is unbelievable."
Bowood's new captain Phil O'Shea was largely responsible for procuring the auction prizes that featured many unusual sporting items, including autographed football and rugby shirts and an array of golfing gifts.
The flag that flew on the 18th green at Carnoustie last year was signed by the Open winner Padraig Harrington and fetched £1,700.
But that was beaten by the receipts from an England shirt signed by the entire England squad on the occasion of David Beckham's 100th appearance against France in Paris.
It raised £1,800 from a raffle and was won by Wiltshire county golf captain Ali James from Cumberwell Park.
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