There will be a special gig at the Tavistock Wharf next Friday when two local bands stage a fundraiser to help the family of a seriously ill child who is being treated in Great Ormond Street children’s hospital.

Party band The Big Strut will perform an upbeat repertoire as befits one of the numbers while Three’s Company will deliver an acoustic set.

Charlotte Robinson, lead singer for The Big Strut, explained that she and her husband, also in the band, wanted to stage a fundraiser to help her friends Laurie and Dave Grimwade, from Plympton, whose little boy Woody is currently being treated at the London hospital.

She said: ‘Woody was diagnosed with DaDa2, a very rare, genetic, life threatening disease at the beginning of the year and has been in Great Ormond Street with his parents since the beginning of September. He has received chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, along with numerous other treatments.

‘The fundraiser is to help the family cover the costs of living and housing at home for their other two sons (Josh, ten, and Bo, four) travel for them to and from London during this time of separation, and to help fund Laurie and Dave while they’re staying up in London with Woody. We thought a gig would be an amazing way to raise money, bring people together and have a fantastic night of live music.’

Charlotte added: ‘The money may not be able to ease the emotional pain of see their child so poorly, but we hope it will help ease the financial anxiety.’

DaDa2 is an incredibly rare condition, which only 150 people have worldwide.

She said she and her husband, Josiah Manning, wanted to put on a gig at the Tavistock Wharf because there was a strong live music scene in Tavistock, and they felt it would get plenty of support.

She said it would be ‘amazing’ to bring music to the venue and support the family at the same time.

‘I think after we’ve been through lockdowns, people are happy to be out again and enjoying seeing live shows and music again. This will be amazig, we will support the family and we will hopefully raise lots and lots of money.

‘They have two other little boys who haven’t been able to go to London at all so it has been really tough on them, so hopefully we will be able to fund them to see their mum and dad and have time together.’

‘The Wharf have been incredibly kind and have been able to give it to us for a smaller fee than usual and everyting is going to the family to get Woody better and support the family in anyway we can really. This is just the right place to put the gig on.’

The gig, called appropriatley enough Woodystock 22, takes place at the Wharf on the evening of Friday, November 4 from . See www.tavistockwharf.com or call 01822 611166 for more details.