AN Upton-upon-Severn man who has terminal cancer has just presented £2,500 to Acorns Children’s Hospice.

Richard Webster was moved to raise the money after visiting hospitals for his own treatment and seeing children there who were being treated for cancer.

He said: “I’m coming up to 77, and I’ve had a good life, and seeing those children really made me want to do something to help.”

Mr Webster, of Furlongs Road, had his first bout of cancer in 2014, with the disease affecting his kidney, and during that time he raised money for Macmillan.

About a year ago, he went out for a meal with friends, only to find he had difficulty swallowing his food.

He said: “They found a four-and-a-half inch tumour. on my oesophagus and I was given three to five months to live.

“Now it’s 11 months later and I’m still here. You just have to have a positive attitude.”

He said he had nothing but praise for the Upton GP surgery, the hospital in Gloucester where he is being treated, and for St Richard’s Hospice, which has been providing assistance for him and his wife Gillian, who have two children and eight grandchildren.

He said: “They’ve all been absolutely wonderful, a real pleasure to deal with.”

Mr Webster, a keen fisherman and match secretary of the Malvern Anglers club, recently held a match day for fellow club members at Broadheath Fisheries where £776 was raised on the day .

He added to this money collected from door-to-door collections in Upton and sponsorships from businesses in the town to bring the total up to £2500, which he has now handed over to the hospice’s area fundraiser Mel Hall.

He said: “I want to thank all the people who have helped him raise the money, in particular the businesses and people of Upton as well as all the anglers who supported the charity match.”

Mr Webster spent 38 years in the supermarket trade, and his career included running stores in Barnards Green and Malvern Link in Malvern.

“My years of managing supermarkets taught me that having a positive attitude is the best way to get the best out of the people who are working for you.

“I’ve had 11 months when I was told that I was going to die in three to five months, and it makes me appreciate things you often take for granted.”