HUNDREDS of pounds have been raised at a charity darts contest in memory of a well-liked father, friend and league darts player.

Kevin Kiely died in June this year, aged 64, from the effects of myeloma and was known as a skilled player in the Caerleon league.

On Saturday, Ponthir Village Hall hosted a memorial darts contest raising funds for charity Myeloma UK.

Organisers described the day as a “great success” as it attracted around 40 entries and raised £650 for the charity.

As previously reported, Susan Kiely was married to Kevin for 39 years and met him in 1977 in Canada, where she was born, before moving to Caerleon.

“The last two years were very rough but he always had a smile on his face and had a great bunch of friends in Caerleon; an amazing group of guys who always phoned and tried to keep his spirit up,” she said.

Myeloma is a type of cancer which affects plasma cells – a type of white blood cell which produces antibodies to fight infection.

While there is no cure for myeloma and an average four-year life expectancy, she said, Kevin survived for 10 years with advanced treatment and drugs from America.

The contest was attended by the Caerleon Darts Team, county darts players and family friends and the £400 first prize was won by Johnny Haines from Swindon.

Raffle prizes ranged from evenings at the Priory in Caerleon and The Beaufort in Raglan to hair salon vouchers and a pair of table tickets to the 2018 Newport Masters darts event.

The memorial day finished with music by blues artist Sicknote Steve at the Ponthir House Inn and following its fundraising success, the Kiely family hope to make the memorial darts contest an annual event.

Son Thomas Kiely also gave a special thanks to event organiser Morgan Barrell and to Phill Kidd for gaining sponsorship and raffle prizes from local businesses.

He added: “The local community came together and we had a lot of my father’s friends coming to just sit down and have a drink with us.

“It was overwhelming and reinforced how well liked my father was”.