A family friend of a teenager who died suddenly of a heart condition is today emulating a David Blaine stunt in his memory.
Mark Pedley sealed himself inside a seven foot Perspex box at Porthill Cricket Club at 10.30pm yesterday and plans to stay in there until 10.30pm tonight, all to raise money for a fund set up in memory of Nathan Butler.
The cricket-mad 16-year-old died of a condition called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy at his home in Hassam Parade, Wolstanton, in February. His family, friends and his former team mates at Porthill want to build a new stand at the cricket ground as a permanent memorial to Nathan, and have embarked on a number of fund-raising endeavours to make the dream a reality.
Mark, aged 44, of Hassam Parade, Wolstanton, said: “One night we were having a drink at the club and I decided do the ‘old David Blaine.’
“I’m just going to have liquids while in the box, no food. I’ll bring in a few bottles of water and maybe we’ll be able to sneak in a few pints. I hope to raise about £1,500. I’ve got some sponsorship from some local companies and there will be collection buckets going around as well. Hopefully with it being on television we’ll get a good crowd.
“A couple of years ago I went to American and brought back these quite expensive magic tricks, which I showed to everyone, and Nathan was really interested in that.”
David Blaine spent 44 days inside a Perspex box suspended above Potters Fiend Park in London in 2003, after a series of similar endurance stunts in his native New York.
While the illusionist faced volleys of eggs, beer cans and paint-filled balloons from less-than-respectful Londoners during his time in captivity, Mark fears even harder and faster missiles may be heading his way.
Mark added: “Our second team are playing Moddershall today, so I’m sure there will be some of their players, and some of ours, who will be looking to hit my box with some big sixes. The box is made out of Perspex, which I’m told is seven times tougher than glass, but we’ll see if that’s true. I thought it looked a bit like a birdhouse, so I might get some birds trying to nest in it.”
Nathan’s dad Phil is a builder and used his talents to design and construct the wood and Perspex box for Mark.
He said: “It’s brilliant that they are raising funds in Nathan’s name. It just helps us to keep going. I’m sure if Nathan were here he’d probably be the first one to try and hit the box with a cricket ball.”
Half of the money raised by the stunt will go to the campaigning charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (Cry), which is looking to fund research into the condition that claimed Nathan’s life.
Nathan’s mum Angela said: “It’s nutty, but fabulous. It is a tragic situation to be in, but this is something that will put a smile on your face. I woke up this morning and I was in floods of tears but then I came down here and saw Mark in his box, and it’s just how Nathan would have wanted it to be.”
