CHESTER pub manager Lance Pritchard set himself a gruelling personal challenge to make a difference to local cancer patients.

Lance, who runs The Shropshire Arms on Northgate Street, was offered a place in the Essar Half Marathon by a friend on the condition that he supported a charity with his run.

Lance said: "There was no second thought, it was going to be The Clatterbridge Cancer Charity because we've had family and friends treated there.

"It's a cause close to everyone. Everyone locally knows somebody who's benefitted from the care at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre. I could see that from the huge amount of support I got immediately."

Lance, 31, set up an online sponsor page but donations were slow, so he used his pub as a platform for his fundraising.

With simple ideas such as pinning up his sponsorship form and organising a raffle, he smashed his original target in weeks.

Lance said: "I've got my good friend John to thank really, he gave me the place.

"John owns a company called Cleaning4Causes and donates a portion of his profits to local charities. He paid for 30 entries in the race and asked people to fundraise with them. He's done the same for a 10k run I've signed up for. He's so charitable".

Supported by Thomas Hughes, owner of The Shropshire Arms, his team and his customers, Lance has raised a whopping £1,180, with more donations still coming in.

Lance, Thomas and some of the staff are visiting The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, Wirral, next week to see first-hand how the donations will make a difference to local cancer patients and their families.

Lance said: "We're really keen to do more fundraising for Clatterbridge and I'm already planning my next event. If anybody has any ideas for me, I'd really love to hear them! Pop in to see me any time."

Jade Palmer, corporate fundraising manager at The Clatterbridge Cancer Charity, said: "We are so grateful to Lance and everybody involved with his fundraising. He's raised a huge amount of money which really will make a big difference to our patients and their families.

"Lance is keen to see where his donations will be spent, we are excited to invite him into the hospital next week to thank him properly, and look forward to continuing our partnership supporting cancer patients in our area"

To support Lance's fundraising, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/lanceshropshirearms.

The Clatterbridge Cancer Charity is working to raise £15 million towards the construction of a brand new specialist hospital in Liverpool city centre and improvements to the Wirral site.

To learn more about the work of The Clatterbridge Cancer Charity, visit clatterbridgecc.nhs.uk or call 0151 556 5566.