A family are keeping the memory of a loving husband and father with a Wild West -themed fundraiser.

Family and friends of Dan Dench have been fundraising over the last few years.

Dan died suddenly in March 2013 at the age of 35 from SUDEP (Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy), leaving behind his wife and two young daughters.

Since his loss, the family have raised £42,000, with proceeds donated to Epilepsy Action, SUDEP Action and more recently Supportdogs.

The family decided two years ago to take on a challenge to raise £18,000 for Supportdogs to cover the cost of training a seizure alert dog.

Once trained, these dogs can give up to a 50 minute warning that their owner is going to have a seizure, allowing the owner to seek help and get to a place of safety.

One dog can transform the life of someone living with Epilepsy on a daily basis and can potentially save lives.

The Dench family have organised a second Hoedown Throwdown event, which will take place tomorrow at Weymouth Pavilion.

The fundraising will start with a family day from 10.30am until 4pm, which will be full of fun and entertainment, with various performance groups taking part.

There will be activities such as a rodeo bull, Wild West shoot out, panning for gold and more to keep the whole family occupied.

The last hour of the event will be a children’s disco hosted by Cookies Elite Sounds.

There will also be a raffle, with the top prize a camping and entry ticket for a family of six to Camp Bestival, worth up to £800 and donated by Camp Bestival.

After the family day there is an evening for adults only, with tickets still left to see a Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers tribute act, plus The Jolly Boys outing, line dancing, a rodeo bull and Tuk Tuk photo booth.

Dan’s mother Sally Dench said: “We have once again been overwhelmed by the support from the local community towards our fundraising.”

“We cannot thank everyone enough, especially Dorchester Stagecoach, Matrix Scaffolding and Event Services, Hays Travel, Statue property insurance, MeraKi Poundbury, Bay Fencing, Weyline Taxis, all the performance groups, Morrisons and many more who have helped and donated prizes to make it possible for this event to take place and hopefully complete our Supportdogs fundraising challenge.

“We feel as a family this is the most proactive thing we can do in memory of Dan and confident that it is just how Dan would want to be remembered.”

n For more information or for tickets, visit weymouthpavilion.com or call 01305 783225.