West Sussex village attempts to set world record for people wearing pants on their head with help from Zoe Ball

Some 364 people took part in the attempt at Danny House, a Grade I listed Elizabethan mansion near Hurstpierpoint, on Saturday, July 22, as part of the Pants to Leukaemia campaign supporting Leukaemia UK.

The Great Big Pants Party was organised by children’s author Hannah Peckham, following her four-year-old son Bodhi’s acute lymphoblastic leukaemia diagnosis in November last year.

Highlights included music from DJs Woody and Nelly Cook, children of Fatboy Slim and BBC Radio 2 DJ Zoe Ball, with Woody hosting the world record attempt at midday.

Hannah told the Middy: “It has been so touching to see a whole community stand together in solidarity to say pants to leukaemia. Not even the rain could dampen the spirit of the unstoppable team Bodhi and we all found our warrior spirit from Bodhi himself. We are hoping we broke a world record and raised over £7,000, but most of all we hope on day we have contributed to helping find a kinder cure.”

Fiona Hazell, chief executive of Leukaemia UK, said: “Important discoveries are happening all the time within blood cancer research, and it’s thanks to the amazing support of families’ such as Bodhi’s that we can fund the world-class researchers across the UK who are continuing to accelerate this progress. The Pants to Leukaemia initiative set up by Bodhi and his mum Hannah, and supported by their family and friends, is a fantastic example of how our community can work together to save and improve the lives of those who are impacted by a leukaemia diagnosis – and how we will continue to do so – through research, awareness and advocacy.”

Hannah, who attended Burgess Hill Girls and is also Zoe Ball’s stepsister, got the idea for ‘Pants to Leukaemia’ while she was in hospital with Bodhi and he started to run around with his pants on his head. The social media campaign encouraged people to take a photo of themselves wearing underpants on their head and then choose a charity to donate to – like Young Lives vs Cancer, Rockinghorse Children’s Charity or Leukaemia UK.

She also set up a JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/teambodhi and in February she and Bodbhi joined Hannah’s childhood friend Holly Willoughby on This Morning. Zoe Ball and Holly Willoughby were some of the first to take to Instagram to support the campaign and wear a ‘brief bonnet’ and other celebrities including Jessie J, Emma Bunton, Emma Willis and Gok Wan have taken part too.

Bodhi, who dressed up as Thor for his TV appearance, also received a message from Hollywood star Chris Hemsworth and in March, Hannah announced that a new made-to-order clothing collection by Percy & Nell was encouraging people to donate to the charity. The clothes feature slogans like ‘Warrior’, ‘Little Warrior’ and ‘Pants’.

Hannah released a new book called Bronty’s Battle Cry on June 15. Visit www.amazon.co.uk.

In the days leading up to The Great Big Pants Party many Hurstpierpoint shops put up blue and orange decorations and Leukaemia UK said donations ‘flooded in’.