A LATCHFORD man will walk a marathon with Sky Sports presenter Jeff Stelling in memory of his dad who died of prostate cancer.

Martin McNicholas’ dad Jack died on Christmas Day 1998 at the age of 66 having been diagnosed with prostate cancer four months earlier and now hopes to raise £1,000 for Prostate Cancer UK in Stelling’s Men United March.

The Soccer Saturday presenter will be walking 10 marathons in 10 days from his boyhood club Hartlepool United to Wembley Stadium, and Bridgewater Avenue resident Martin will be joining him on the 26.2-mile leg from York City’s Bootham Crescent to Leeds United’s Elland Road.

The 52-year-old said: “I often wonder if dad had been to his doctor in his early 50s would they have found he had this illness and treated him successfully to enjoy a longer life with us.

“I am looking forward to the challenge and I’m delighted to be raising awareness and much-needed money to help the fight against prostate cancer.”

One in eight men will get prostate cancer, and while Martin’s fundraising currently stands at £700 he hopes to top the £1,000 mark for his marathon later this month.

Jeff Stelling said: “I deal in statistics but the ones we are dealing with here are shocking – one man dies every hour from this disease, that’s six in the course of Soccer Saturday every week.

“It doesn’t just hit the bad guys, it hits the good guys as well.

“I’ve got friends such as Sky Sports rugby league colleagues Bill Arthur and Eddie Hemmings who I have known longer than I care to remember – both are great guys who have been affected by prostate cancer and I’ll be meeting more men like them along the way.”