Burnley bank staff's Vegas 'road trip' raises £9,000 for charity in support of two colleagues battling cancer

Throughout October, the team, alongside colleagues from Blackburn, Darwen, Accrington and Clitheroe branches, pledged to run, walk and cycle 5,120 miles – the equivalent distance of travelling from Blackburn to Las Vegas – to raise money for Rosemere Cancer Foundation.

Hoping to raise at least £2,000 the top Burnley team of Alison Holmes, Emma Buxton, Mark Phillips, Ramesh Patel and Richard Buckley, more than trebled their efforts to bring in £7,664.71 that ,with Gift Aid, will add up to a donation of £9,088.68.

Their help for the charity is in support of Blackburn branch manager Jayne Horsfield, who also formerly worked at Lloyds Accrington, and senior bank manager Duncan Ferguson, who oversees the pool. Jayne has been undergoing treatment for lymphoma, while Duncan is being treated for bladder cancer.

Challenge co-ordinator and Accrington branch manager Katrina McCormick said: “This year, our colleagues and friends Duncan and Jayne have had to face cancer.

"Due to the current Covid-19 situation, we are unable to see them and, as a close team, we were struggling with how to help as they go through their journeys.

“To show our love to both Dunc and Jayne, we decided to stretch and challenge ourselves with our ‘Going the Extra Mile Together for Rosemere Challenge’ – Rosemere Cancer Foundation being a charity that both Dunc

and Jayne chose to be the recipient of our fundraising effort.

All local Lloyds’ branches had Rosemere collection tins on their counters throughout the month of October for customers to show their support for the staff team’s efforts.

Rosemere Cancer Foundation works to bring world class cancer treatments and services to cancer patients from throughout Lancashire and South Cumbria being treated at Rosemere Cancer Centre which is the region’s specialist cancer treatment and radiotherapy centre at the Royal Preston Hospital, and at another eight local hospital cancer units across the two counties, including those at Burnley General Teaching and the Royal Blackburn Hospitals.

The charity funds cutting edge equipment, research, training and other cancer services that are beyond limited NHS resources. For further information on its work, including how to make a donation, visit www.rosemere.org.uk.