Meet the Preston teaching assistant hosting mini discos for children in lockdown

Racking thousands of viewers every week, 34-year-old teaching assistant Stuart, from Fulwood, hosts discos, encouraging little ones to dance and sing in a bid to keep them entertained during the third national lockdown.

And last weekend, January 30, his 90-minute energetic set was raising money for the Bone Cancer Trust in support of family friend Phoebe Carter-Darwen who is suffering from an aggressive form of bone cancer.

He has currently raised £1,500 for the cause on Just Giving, along with an additional £591.50 from text donations during his Saturday show, taking the total to £2,091.50 for the Trust.

Stuart first began performing as DJ Slugs - a mobile children's entertainer in Preston and was a familiar face at schools and functions across Lancashire before the pandemic.

He said: "Phoebe is one of my daughters' best friends so we knew about her diagnosis from November last year. I have been hosting the virtual discos for a few weeks but I had never really realised how poorly she was because of the lockdown.

"I read a post that her mum had shared to Facebook about the rare form of bone cancer she had and it really touched me a lot more than I expected. From there, I wanted to do something and thought it was a great opportunity to raise some awareness and money.

"I used this lockdown to do a good deed and put a smile on children's faces who are struggling and help out the parents who are homeschooling them all week."

In last Saturday's performance, Stuart danced to party classics such as the 'Hokey Cokey' and had cartoon characters on the show to keep children entertained whilst raising money for the Bone Cancer Trust.

He even performed in the dark in an outfit constructed out of glow sticks.

It was when he had stepped in as a DJ for a family fun night that he was first told he should turn being a DJ and host into an entertainment business.

From there, he began performing as DJ Slugs at children's parties, discos and birthdays and has now taken his show to Youtube with the help of friends Natalie Harrison and Richard Leniewski.

The dad-of-four added: "In lockdown I had all the events cancelled and I wasn't able to do any entertainment. Now I am working in schools, I have my weekends to myself so thought to myself it was the best thing I could do.

"After Christmas when Boris introduced another lockdown, I knew I wanted to do something to put a smile on children's faces because I know how hard it is for them at the moment.

"I will continue to do the show each week as it is only getting bigger and better."

You can watch back Stuart's live discos here.

All photos are courtesy of Mark Mclouglin Photos.

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