OVER £1,500 has been added to the coffers of a campaign to raise a statue of Newport boxing hero, David Pearce.

A virtual race night at the Victoria Inn on December 1 raised £975 was the latest event at the Lliswerry pub.

Campaign committee member and nephew of David, Luke Pearce, thanked the landlord of the Victoria Joey Bourne and his colleague Danny Washbrook for their efforts in raising this cash. He also thanked the statue committee and Andrew Collingnourne for compering the night and Rosie and her team for the running of the races.

Also helping push the campaign totals up was a disco at Pill Harriers which raised £630.

Luke thanked Gavin Hurley at Pill Harriers, fellow committee members Stan Berry, who was DJ on the night and Johan Berendjy who was co-promoter.

He also thanked Councillor Kevin Whitehead, saying: “He has attended every event since we started last year”. He added: “I’d also like to thank ex-Welsh Guardsman Dai Price, Ryan Price, and Chris Mahoney for their volunteer work”.

The event at the Victoria Inn marked a year since fundraising kicked off in 2016, and Luke thanked everyone who has backed the campaign since then. “We’re very grateful for all the support people have given us. We’re close to our goal now, so we just need a little more help to get over the line in order to deliver the statue for Newport.”

In a year, the campaign has raised nearly £37,000 but still have £8,000 to find before May 2018 when they hope to have the groundwork completed so the statue can be unveiled.

Dubbed ‘Newport’s own Rocky’, Pearce became the Welsh and British Heavyweight champion in 1983 - a title he never lost in the ring.