THE mother of tragic murdered teenager Sasha Marsden has thanked a generous Bolton couple for supporting the family’s fundraising mission.

To mark the anniversary of 16-year-old Sasha being killed in Blackpool in January 2013, the Marsden family held a celebration day at Rumworth Hall.

The day raised more than £500 for the Lancashire SAFE Centre, which provides counselling to sexual assault victims.

Sasha’s mother Jayne was stunned when Bill and Anthea Wilding, who own Rumworth Hall, offered to double the figure having already provided the venue and food free of charge.

Mrs Marsden presented Sue Hesketh, manager of the SAFE centre, with a cheque for £1,180 earlier this month.

She said: “We had such a lovely day in Sasha’s memory.

“We had never met the people from Rumworth Hall before so we were very moved by their generosity.

“The SAFE centre do excellent work and are badly under-funded so we are pleased to support them.”

Mrs Marsden added that the fundraising in the name of the SAFE centre will continue, with more events planned for the coming year.

Mrs Wilding, from Rumworth Hall, said: “We are also parents at the end of the day.

“I dread to think how something like that could have happened to any of my daughters.

“I feel so sorry for the family and we would certainly be willing to let them use the hall again for future events.”

Sasha died on January 31, 2013, when she was lured to a hotel by its owner David Minto.

Minto was jailed for life, with a minimum of 35 years, after being found guilty of Sasha’s murder in July, 2013.

Minto failed in a Court of Appeal challenge against his minimum jail term on February 7 Mrs Marsden added: “We were pleased to see his appeal get thrown out.

“It is still as hard as it was a year ago when Sasha died.”