Fundraiser to be held in memory of Sunderland businessman who died following 'freak accident'

James Douglas, 28, was killed after a pillar collapsed on top of him as he climbed onto a hammock, which was elevated between two brick columns on Friday, April 15 at his home in Tunstall Village Green.

The North East Ambulance Service, air ambulance and fire service attended, but James was pronounced dead at the scene.

Tributes flooded social media following James’ death and his family paid tribute to a “much-loved” man who was “exceptionally hard working and one of a kind”.

Following the death of James - who managed a letting company, funeral business Provisionwise and party event firm Gamezone – a fundraiser has been organised by Lynne Oliver, who manages BizSpace, where James set up his first office, and James’s business partner, Kev Brown.

The invite-only event, which is to take place at The Saltgrass pub, in Ayres Quay, on Saturday, August 20, has now sold out, with a total of 220 tickets purchased.

Funds raised from the special event, which will see Sunderland band Sons of Eden perform, will be donated to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and the Air Ambulance Service.

Lynne said: “I’ve known James for many years and he had such a huge impact on people, even if he just met them once, he was so inspiring and had the best work ethic I’ve seen in the last 11 years I’ve been working with businesses.

“We want to keep James’ memory alive and it’s been a great focus for everyone following the tragic incident. We’ve got people are coming from as far as Fife and Aberdeen and people have even cancelled their holidays to come along so that’s just shows how well thought of James is.”

The fundraiser has already accumulated £2,000 from ticket sales and is expected to increase thanks to a Barclays Bank pledge to double the amount raised.

Lynne added: “It all started out as a small idea to raise some money in honour of James and now it’s spiralled into this huge event. It will be an emotional but brilliant night in memory of an incredibly hard-working man.”

For those unable to attend the event, donations to James’ fundraiser can be made here.