A MOTHER of a Ruthin rugby club player who died of bowel cancer aged 30 is preparing for her next fundraiser.

Rose Hislop, mother of Llanfair-Dyffryn-Clwyd winger Tom Scrivener who died in 2011, will hold a charity prize bingo afternoon at the club, on Pavilion Cae Ddol, next month to raise money for the Nightingale Hospice, Wrexham, who cared for her son.

On the night he died, Tom paid a visit to the hospice to get help with his nutrition when his bowels exploded.

Rose said: “Because he was there, it meant he had pain relief on hand and had a peaceful last night. He would have been in so much pain if he had been at home and had to wait for an ambulance. I will always be grateful to the hospice for that.

"It’s really important to me that Tom isn’t forgotten.

“Every year I like to do a fundraiser for a charity that helped Tom. I know bingo isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but for people who enjoy it I’m happy to give them a bit of fun.

“Even though Tom played for the rugby club for years, as time goes on you worry people will forget.

“People have been so kind and have helped so much with these events. We are lucky to live in an area where there is still a sense of community, we always get given great prizes for these events so I’ve managed to raise quite a bit over the years.”

The determined mum has already raised £15,000 for the hospice and charity Bowel Cancer UK.

Tom was well known throughout Ruthin - he was a member of the Rugby club’s 1999 league and cup double winning U19 youth squad.

In his time with the club, Tom played with former Wales prop Eifion Lewis Roberts and former Scarlet and Worcester Warriors’ Rob Higgitt, becoming close friends with the centre’s brother Sam Higgitt.

Tom had returned to the area, relocating from London where he had been working as a landscape gardener, with plans to begin a college course to study primary education.

After settling in a cottage near Corwen with his girlfriend Alex, Tom was diagnosed in November 2010 after complaining of stomach pains, before dying just four months later in March 2011.

Rose added: “He always loved children, and was finally planning on becoming a teacher. At 30 you don’t expect to be diagnosed with terminal bowel cancer.

“On the night he died, he was just visiting the hospice to get help with his nutrition when his bowels exploded.

"It must be so difficult to look after people who are dying and in that amount of pain. It takes a very special person to do that and I owe them [the hospice] so much.”

Rose will follow up the bingo night with a concert on Saturday, October 13 in Llanfair DC village hall featuring The Shadows’ bassist Brian “Licorice” Locking, Welsh tenor Davi Chris and Ruthin folk and blues trio Tom, Dick and Harry.

The charity prize bingo event takes place on Saturday, June 16 at 2pm, with bingo game books costing £3 and other games available. All proceeds go towards the Nightingale Hospice.