COMEDIAN John Bishop and his wife Melanie have been announced as new patrons of the Children’s Adventure Farm Trust (CAFT).

They join an esteemed list of patrons, which includes Sir Bobby Charlton, who is also president of the charity, Jason Manford, Noddy Holder, Freddie Flintoff, Lee Boardman and Dame Sarah Storey.

Fellow comedian and patron Manford first introduced the Bishops to the adventure farm, bringing them along to the CAFT Grand Ball in December 2011.

They have since made donations to the Little Bollington-based charity and, more recently, John played Santa at one of its Christmas parties, donning the red suit and giving out presents to children who would otherwise not experience such festive fun.

CAFT provides holidays, respite and daytrips for terminally ill, disabled and disadvantaged children from all over the North West. Each year they must raise £1million to continue to provide these life-changing opportunities to children in need.

The Bishops said: “We’re over the moon to be invited to become patrons of the adventure farm.
“We’ve been supporting this amazing charity for several years and have been delighted to spend time at CAFT with the children, as well as getting to know the staff and volunteers who work so hard to make all of this possible.”

Helen Crowther, senior trust fundraiser for CAFT, said: “It’s absolutely fantastic that John and Melanie have decided to join our adventure farm family.

“It has been such a pleasure getting to know them both, they’re a lovely, approachable couple who genuinely want to help.”