Fareham man raises £120,000 with colleagues for cancer research

Now the 57-year-old has been presented with a Flame of Hope Award for his ‘outstanding’ contribution to the charity.

Father-of-four David, who lives in Locks Heath, chose to dedicate a year of fundraising for cancer research as he felt his family’s time with dad Ronald was ‘taken away too soon.’

‘Popular’ Ronald died 21 years ago having been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer just three months prior.

David said: ‘He was such a lovely, popular man. Lots of people knew him from working as a tote manager at the greyhound stadium in Portsmouth, which he loved doing.

‘It was really tough when he passed away, it really affected us all.

‘It really makes me sad that two of my children were born after he died so he never got to meet them.’

He added: ‘Another reason for choosing Cancer Research was that everyone knows someone who has been affected by cancer.

‘I am a Portsmouth lifelong supporter and season ticket holder and it has always struck me that in a typical crowd of 18,000 an astonishing 9,000 will get cancer in their lifetime.

‘A truly shocking statistic that we all need to do something about.’

Over the past year David encouraged staff based across the country at engineering and infrastructure firm Amey to take part in a multitude of activities from sponsored walks to head shaves and co-ordinated a huge event to coincide with the company’s 100th birthday.

‘We challenged our staff to think about ways they could support Cancer Research UK, linked to 100,’ he said.

‘So, ideas ranged from 100 press-ups every day, running 100 miles over a week or baking 100 cakes and then selling them for Cancer Research UK.

‘I decided to be silent for 100 minutes, every day for a week. I can’t stop talking so actually, to be silent for that long each day was torture.

‘But it was a fantastic, company wide effort and we managed to raise £33,000.

‘As a corporate partner we have got involved in lots of different activities.

‘I did Dryathlon in January, I did a walking your dog month where I walked the dog every day, and I did Walk All Over Cancer along with 150 employees which raised £28,000.

‘One of our staff members has been doing a sponsored head shave too.’

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David was presented with the award during a ceremony in Bath at which a total of 80 individuals and groups were recognised.