TWO Team Ellie fundraising events took place over the weekend raising over £7,000 for the Noah's Ark Appeal.

Over 50 youngsters attended a fundraising disco at Tiny Tearaways in Bulwark on February 24 partying their way to raising £320.90 for the cause and on February 26, a sponsored cycle ride held at Caldicot Leisure Centre added a further £443 to the total.

Tessa Legg, Team Ellie organiser and close friend of Eloise's parents, said: "It has been a really successful weekend for Team Ellie.

"The fundraising events at Tiny Tearaways and Caldicot Leisure Centre were a great success. Team Ellie would like to say a huge thank you to Tiny Tearaways for not only giving us free use of their facilities, but also organising a raffle and party food for all the children.

"They did a great job. The sponsored cycle ride at Caldicot Leisure Centre was also a huge success."

The aim had been to cycle the distance from Holyhead to Caldicot Leisure Centre (210 miles)on the gym bikes, but on the day 58 people gave up at least 20 minutes of their time each and covered a total of 367 miles.

The leisure centre also put up their bouncy castle for children to go on while their parents were cycling and a great array of cakes for sale were also provided by staff.

They also held a Name the Doll competition and sealed bids for a lovely bracelet that had been donated.

She added: "We are now all gearing up for our 5km run on March 4 at Bute Park. Our online sponsorship is up to £3434.56, and we're hoping when all of the offline sponsorship has been collected we will have raised over £5000. £5k for a 5k.

"The proceeds will go to the Noah's Ark Appeal. Although we've made a really good start to our fundraising, we still need people to donate at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Team-Ellie if we are going to make our next target of another £10,000 for Latch and Clic Sargent.

Meanwhile pupils at the Portskewett primary school Eloise Lawn attended before her diagnosis with cancer have been putting their creative skills to good use by making entertainment boxes for her.

Youngsters at Archbishop Rowan Williams CIW Primary School have put together several boxes filled with fun items to keep four-year-old Eloise entertained during her stay at the Children's Hospital for Wales in Cardiff while she undergoes chemotherapy.

Headmaster, Graham Murphy, said: "The pupils have been extremely concerned about Eloise and their thoughts and prayers are very much with her.

"They wanted to express their compassion for her in a practical way and have been busy making special boxes for her filled with lots of entertaining items.

"They have drawn pictures for her and even made a DVD of funny sketches to make her laugh. They have added books, cuddly toys and other bits and pieces so that when she is feeling a little bit low or bored she can dip in and find something different to cheer her up."

The pupils are also gearing up to take part in their own fundraising event to help raise money for Team Ellie.

On March 12, the youngsters will take part in their own sponsored walk around the school's grounds.

Mr Murphy added: "I have been to visit Eloise at the hospital a few times and we keep in close contact with her family to see how she is doing.

"We are hoping to be able to bring Eloise back into school life in some capacity as soon as she is well enough. We will be working closely with the family and health professionals to find a solution to returning her to our school family."