Couple who died four weeks apart leave behind two children

A shopkeeper in Birmingham has launched a crowdfunding drive to raise money for two young children whose parents died a month apart.

Amie Walton, 30, passed away from bowel cancer in August, just four weeks after her partner Chris Mills, 42, died of a ruptured stomach ulcer.

Their deaths left the couple's children – Harry, eight, and Mia, six – orphans. They are being cared for by their grandparents.

Now local shopkeeper Bal Singh has started a crowdfunding page to help pay for the costs of raising the children.

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Its initial target was £2,000, but has since soared past £39,000 with contributions from over 1,400 supporters with 22 days to run.

"Both my brother and I, and undoubtedly many of you, were deeply touched and affected by this tragedy as we felt a personal connection to the loss," Singh wrote.

"We felt the need to do something positive for the children and hopefully be part of something bigger than our individual selves.

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"We both hope you will join us in raising as much funds as we possibly can as a community and come together to place a smile on the faces of two beautiful children."

Walton was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer after visiting a doctor with what she had thought was heartburn in September 2020.

Despite initially promising results from chemotherapy, her condition got progressively worse, with her cancer spreading to her liver and lungs.

Mills would sleep by her side as she received treatment at Birmingham's Good Hope hospital.

On 18 July this year, Walton awoke to discover that Mills has died of a ruptured stomach ulcer next to her.

Four weeks later, on 18 August, Walton lost her battle with cancer.

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Walton had said she didn't have much awareness of bowel cancer until she read about Dame Deborah James, who died of the disease aged 40 in June.

Following her diagnosis in December 2016, the journalist became a prominent campaigner for cancer awareness, and was praised by the NHS for encouraging thousands more people to get their symptoms checked out.

Click here to donate to support Amie Walton and Chris Mills's children.