Surprise surprise for Sheffield schoolgirl

A Sheffield schoolgirl battling leukaemia got a real treat when a convoy of supercars worth up to £1 million arrived to pick her up from school on her 11th birthday.

A blue Audi R8 was among the sleek, shiny cars waiting for her outside Brookhouse Junior School in Beighton where Tilly Pickering is a pupil.

The luxurious surprise was organised by Adam Thorby from Greenhill, who runs Supercar Driver, when he heard about Tilly’s plight from his neighbours.

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Tilly was diagnosed with acute myloid leukaemia last March and shortly afterwards decided she wanted to raise funds for Sheffield charity PACT – Parents Association of Children with Tumours and Leukaemia.

The charity was set up to help the families of children undergoing treatment for cancer in Sheffield and is trying to raise £640,000 to build a new oncology and haematology clinic at Sheffield Children’s Hospital.

Tilly’s mum Katy Pickering, 41, of Beighton, said: “You could hear the cars outside revving and popping, it was amazing. When Tilly came out of school she was just shocked.”

“It’s the one time we didn’t think about hospitals and chemotherapy, it was just ‘oh my god look at the cars!’

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“Adam even managed to find a blue Audi R8 which is Tilly’s dream car.

“Tilly was ecstatic, she didn’t stop talking about it and neither did her petrol head brother Isaac, nine. This is just one of those things where saying thank you just isn’t enough.

“You say thank you when someone makes you a cup of tea, not when someone does something like this.

“We didn’t know Adam at all – this was the generosity of a stranger taking time out of their life to do something special for our daughter.

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“Some of the car owners travelled an hour and a half to be there.”

Adam said: “It was crazy for the kids – to see that number of supercars is pretty rare.

“Tilly was loving it, the weather was horrible but when we got to the school the sun came out and so the roof of the R8 came down.

“We stopped to take some pictures and Tilly said it was her best birthday ever,” said Adam. After taking photos Tilly and family including Dad Sean, 50, set off in a convoy which included Lamborghinis, Porsches and McClarens for a 40-minute drive.

Tilly is in remission after finishing chemotherapy. Find out more of Just Giving, Tilly Mae