A CANCER survivor from Selby is hoping to take his fundraising tally to £10,000 with a charity stunt this month.

Danny Harris, of Kitchen Drive, Selby, who has helped Selby Railway Club raise more than £9,000 in support of various charities in the last five years, will host a night of live entertainment in Selby next month.

Mr Harris, 53, is a wheelchair user, and was diagnosed with bowel cancer at the end of last year, so the latest fundraising will be supporting the cancer care centre at York Hospital.

He said: “When I was 24, I got a disease called ankylosing spondylitus, which is a form of arthritis, both osteo and rheumatoid, which means I can’t bend, turn round or move my head and my back is like a bamboo cane with no give in it and my head is fixed forward.

“My neck bone bends over time so in the end I will be looking to my own feet. I’m in a wheelchair and can only walk about 15 feet.

“The cancer wasn’t so bad. I’ve also got breathing problems and a growth in my lung, so I just take it on the chin and get on with it. When I found out, I just said ‘right, what are we going to do about it?’.

"Within four weeks they took out the tumour. I went for tests a fortnight ago to make sure everything was fine, and they said they’ll see me in three years time, which was quite a relief, to say the least.”

Mr Harris and the club have previously raised money for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, Macmillan Cancer Research, guide dogs, Help For Heroes and the British Heart Foundation.

As a thank you to the staff at the hospital, Mr Harris and his friend Paddy Boocock have dyed their hair and beards pink ahead of the event, in an effort to help boost fundraising.

He said: “It was my idea to go pink. We’ve raised £600 from a silly idea after a few beers, it’s fantastic.

“Paddy looked at me, I said, ‘go on, for a laugh’, and he said ‘okay’. I said if we got £500 sponsorship I’d wear all pink on the night, and it was going a bit slow, so I said if we get £500 I’ll wear a pink dress, so I’m not really looking forward to that. We’ve done this for ten years, and almost raised £10,000, so if we get a thousand, we will be laughing. Realistically, we’re hoping for £1,800.”

• The concert will be held at the Selby Railway Club from 7.30pm on Wednesday, April 24. Entry is a suggested donation of £1, and can be paid on the door.

• To donate online go to justgiving.com/pad-dan