Friends walk the Jubilee Line in memory of childhood pal

Sam Puttick was just six months old at the time of the crash but, despite being confined to a wheelchair, he attended his village primary school. Tragically he died in June 2009 after contracting meningitis.

His schoolfriend at Westbury Leigh C of E School in Wiltshire, Rhi Greatwood, said she has never forgotten him and wanted to do something to mark what would have been his 21st birthday.

Hammers fan Rhi, 21, and five friends, four of whom are fellow West Ham fans, will set off from Stanmore on June 9 and call at each of the remaining 26 stations along the Jubilee Line until they reach Stratford.

“Sam was my best friend and we had known each other all our lives because his mum and mine were best friends, so I was devastated when he died,” said Rhi, who has just finished a teaching degree at Winchester University.

“He was in a wheelchair from when he was six months old after the car accident and Spinal Research helped pay to adapt the family’s house and car to make them wheelchair accessible.

“I really wanted to do something to remember him in the year he would have turned 21 like me and it was while we were on the way to the London Stadium that we had the idea of walking the Jubilee Line.”

She and her five friends, who are also at Winchester, estimate the 22.6 mile trek will take them 12 hours. They will all be wearing West Ham shirts and are hoping from some encouragement from passers-by along the way.

“I’ve never forgotten Sam and I have a tattoo of a tractor as a little memorial because he absolutely loved them,” said Rhi. “Spinal Research is a great charity and we wanted to help them, so this a way of celebrating Sam’s birthday and the journey we take to watch our favourite team.”

The friends have set up a JustGiving page for donations at: https://www.justgiving.com/page/rhiannon-greatwood-5?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL&utm_campaign=015