Three young Seagulls; a three-day walk (and three points?)

Albion fans embark on epic 60-mile-plus trek to last game of the season to raise funds for Cancer Research UK in honour of Leighton Little.

2025-05-21T06:00+01:00

Jenson, Teddy and Archie are walking from the Amex to the final game of the season at Spurs to raise money for Cancer Research UK in memory of their friend Leighton.

Three young Albion supporters are set to embark on an extraordinary journey from the Amex to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this weekend in memory of their dear friend, Leighton, and to raise vital funds for Cancer Research UK.

The group will set off early on Friday May 23, covering more than 27 miles on their first day, before stopping overnight close to Gatwick Airport. Their second day will see them hike from Smallfield into central London, before the final push, in time for the kick-off at 4pm on Sunday. They’re hoping other Brighton fans will join them in the last few miles.

The ambitious sponsored walk was the brainchild of Archie White, who turns 15 on May 16, who roped in another of Leighton’s friends, Teddy Newnham, 18. Leighton’s younger brother, and fellow Albion fanatic, Jenson, 13, couldn’t wait to join them.

This heartfelt initiative is being carried out as a tribute to Leighton, who tragically lost his battle with cancer in 2022 aged just 15.

Archie, who lives in Ovingdean and is being supported for the whole walk by his dad, Richard, said: “We’re all huge sport fans, especially Brighton and Hove Albion, and go to pretty much every game, home and away. It just got me thinking about the early morning train journeys Leighton would have had with us and how we could do something in his memory and raise money for charity. My dad took a bit of persuading about the walk idea though!”

Teddy, from Saltdean, went to Cardinal Newman School, in Hove, with Leighton, and was also in his cricket team at Rottingdean, where Leighton and Jenson’s dad, Darren, was a coach. He said: “As soon as Archie told me about the walk I knew I should do it too. It’s so unfair everything that Leighton and his family have missed out on. It’s going to be a tough walk, but we hope people will get behind us and support Cancer Research UK.”

Jenson, who also lives in Saltdean, and has dad Darren walking by his side, said: “I really wanted to join the walk in memory of my brother and to help raise money for Cancer Research so other families don’t have to go through what we have. We’ve been overwhelmed by all of the support and the fantastic response from the whole football community.”

The boys, who will be joined for the first 27 miles and for the last day by Teddy’s mum, Claire, haven’t completed a long-distance walk before and have only had a few weeks to train.

As some stages of the route are still being finalised the exact distance hasn’t been set, but the team is likely to cover more than 60 miles.