THE family of a former cancer patient are appealing to Bolton businesses - "Please don't add to our mail mountain."

This month several Bolton firms received a chain letter saying a seven-year-old boy from Surrey who has terminal cancer is trying to get in the Guinness Book of Records for having the largest collection of business compliments slips.

The letter asks the businesses, which include Gordons (Bolton) Ltd, Bolton Wanderers Football Club and Winder Taylor Fallows solicitors, to send slips to the boy's Carshalton home and then pass on 10 request letters to other firms.

But what none of the companies know is that this chain letter is several years old, many of the details are incorrect and Craig Shergold's family is now being inundated with around five sack loads of unwanted mail a day from all around the world.

The problem dates back to 1989 when Craig, then aged nine, was diagnosed as being terminally ill with a brain tumour.

The family appealed for get well cards to cheer Craig up and to try and get his name in the Guinness book. He achieved his dream but the cards kept flooding in despite pleas to stop.

Over the years the details became muddled so firms thought he wanted business cards.

Today, after undergoing surgery in America, Craig is a fit and well 17-year-old and plans to be a comedy actor when he leaves college.

In the meantime, his family have had to draft in friends and local scouts and guides to try to sort their proper mail from the piles of unwanted compliment slips and business cards.

The cards are collected for recycling and the stamps are torn off and saved for charity.

"With the way it is going the mail won't stop until I am 30 - I hope it does though," said Craig.

The family are appealing for businesses to bin the chain letter instead of sending it on.

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