A GRIEF-stricken Blackpool family were comforted this week to see money that had been raised in vain to save their son's life was helping improve the lives of other sick children in Blackpool Victoria Hospital's Berry Ward.

Three new state-of-the-art electronic beds have been introduced to the ward, thanks to one very brave boy, a generous gesture from his equally brave family -- and big-hearted Blackpool licensees.

Five-year-old Curtis Williams tragically died in June this year from a brain tumour with which he was diagnosed more than 18 months ago. At this point the Curtis Williams Appeal was still gathering funds to send Curtis to America for a potentially life-saving operation.

Town centre pub and club licensees who had collected the money were left devastated by this unimaginable twist of fate and wished to help in any further way possible. The family granted them permission to turn the appeal into the Curtis Williams Fund and asked for the money to go to the children's ward in BVH. The appeal and fund have raised a staggering £14,000.

Licensee spokesman Joe Curran, aka Dr Feelgood, said: "Curtis was a huge James Bond fan and before he died we spent some of the money raised on bringing a Pearce Brosnan lookalike to meet him for the day.

"Curtis thought he was the real James and was over the moon. We nicknamed him 005 because that's how old he was then. And now the beds will be called the Curtis Williams beds and numbered 001, 002 and 003 in his honour.

"The beds are great because they can be manipulated to give sick children the maximum comfort and support while reducing pressure.

"The remaining money will buy other essential equipment for poorly children across the Fylde coast such as bed linen etc."

Curtis's father Stephen Williams and his older brother Jamie visited the ward yesterday (Wednesday Oct 24) to see the beds arrive and Mr Williams said: "We wanted the money to go towards helping other sick children in the area and it was a chance for something positive to come out of such a terrible time.

"I think the new beds are absolutely wonderful, but Curtis wouldn't have gone near them as he was scared of hospital beds."

When asked what Curtis was like, he smiled and replied: "He was boisterous and absolutely brilliant. He spoke his own mind and wouldn't always let the nurses do what they had to.

"But the main thing that everyone remembers about him was that he was always smiling no matter what. We miss him greatly."

Senior nurse for the Berry ward Pauline Wilson said: "They have made a great difference and are extremely useful for special needs children or very poorly children. We have also ordered new bed linen for the ward."