FOUR kind-hearted Kidderminster golfers undertook a marathon game to raise vital funds for a charity close to their hearts.

Churchill and Blakedown members Adrian Webb, Dean Sherwood, Jason Neve and Simon Bailey teed off at 5am to fit in four rounds – a total of 72 holes - over the picturesque Kidderminster course.

And their impressive efforts has seen them raise almost £1,500 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

The inspiration behind the fundraising effort was Mr Webb who, in September 2012, was diagnosed with skin cancer after his wife Michele noticed a mole on his back had changed colour.

At that stage, doctors gave Mr Webb just a year to live as the cancer spread to his lungs, spleen, liver, bowel and spine.

But with the help of trial drugs, he has fought off the disease and has thrown himself into fundraising into cancer research.

Last year he, along with Mr Sherwood and other family and friends, took on the Three Peaks Challenge which saw them scale Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon.

Mr Webb said: “I shouldn’t be here. Cancer is just a term and shouldn’t be such a feared word but believe me, when you have it you’re pretty frightened. It was in September 2012 is when I first began to live with the word cancer at the age of 47.

“Fortunately for me I have loving wife Michele who is very observant and I have her to thank for arranging an appointment with my GP for an investigative review on a mole in the centre of my back.

“The mole had recently changed colour. The GP advised me to have a biopsy and in the following weeks my worst fears were realised as the biopsy proved to be Melanoma - skin cancer.”

The golf challenge took around four hours to complete. To date they have £1,279 in pledges on their Just Giving page with around £300 to add from Mr Sherwood’s own sponsorship form.

He added: “It was a very tiring day not helped by us all getting bitten to death because we were all in shorts.

“What was a great help was the support the club gave us by allowing us to do the challenge and asking other members to let us through as required, which they did magnificently.

“Also, the personal help from captain Bob Juliuer and Joe Wier in the pro shop on the day and the very kind gesture from John Voizey to come in on his day off and organize some lunch for us all.

“There are also a lot of others to thank for sponsorship and goodwill messages.”

People can still make donations by logging on to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Jason-Neve