VETERANS and serving members of the Armed Forces in Chester have raised hundreds of pounds for a charity close to their hearts.

Each fortnight, members of the Chester Armed Forces & Veterans Breakfast Club meet socially and support each other.

Over the past year, the group has raised £800 for cancer charity Maggie's Wirral, which supports people living with cancer in the Wirral, Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales and surrounding areas.

The club, which has supported good causes in the past including Scotty's Little Soldiers and Walking with the Wounded, chose Maggie's this past year.

The donation came as Kimberly Noble, wife of one of the group's administrators Sean Noble, sadly has secondary metastatic breast cancer. Maggie's has supported the Noble family throughout the cancer diagnosis.

Accepting the £800 cheque in a presentation held at the Brook Street Café this weekend, Maggie's cancer support specialist Lynne Welsh said: "A massive thank you from Maggie's.

"We are there to support anyone affected by cancer, and in particular, the past two years, through the pandemic, it has been so tough for those living with cancer.

"We have been open throughout the pandemic and patients have really appreciated that."

The Chester Armed Forces and Veterans Breakfast Club was one of the first of its kind to launch in the UK in 2014, with about 200 clubs now operating in the UK, Malta and Hong Kong. Other groups to meet locally include ones in Buckley and Ellesmere Port.

Armed Forces members are welcome to join the Chester group, which has only one rule – 'respect each other'.

Paul Anstey, an ex-Royal engineer and one of the administrators for the group, said it was a place where "like-minded people can meet, discuss and support each other."

He added: "We don't pretend to offer therapy, but we can show others who may be struggling what support is on offer, and we mutually help each other's mental health. There is still that camaraderie."

"We have about 400 members now on Facebook, and we are probably the biggest ex-Forces group on there, and we are totally independent.

"Our oldest member is in his 90s, and he served in the Malayan Emergency. We have had visits from some high-profile people, the Sheriff of Chester and the MP, Chris Matheson.

"We have had Royal engineers, medics, Cheshire Regiment and a couple of RAF lads. It's mostly ex-Army but all Forces are welcome.

"We are also for families, such as widows. One of our members was struggling and turned up and at first was as timid as a mouse. She is now one of the group administrators and we can't shut her up now!

"We are all friends here now."

As well as meeting up every fortnight, the group holds days out, a yearly barbecue and other social events, where people can chip in some money to help raise funds for charity.

Members of the group were also able to meet up virtually on Zoom during the Covid lockdowns.