A REDDITCH charity which provides specialist care and support to people affected by cancer has raised an incredible £1m for charity.

The Redditch and District Committee has reached its incredible £1,000,000 fundraising milestone for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Until her death in 2016, the group's fundraising efforts were spearheaded by Ida Parkinson from Astwood Bank, Worcestershire’s very first Macmillan Nurse, who took on the role of president of the fundraising committee after her retirement.

Her goal throughout her career and retirement was to do all she could to help local people with a cancer diagnosis receive the support and care they and their families needed for as long as they wanted.

Ida pioneered counselling for relatives, which is now the norm, and was instrumental in setting up the Primrose Hospice in Bromsgrove.

Ida's daughter Wendy Thompson joined the group in 2017, to carry on that legacy.

Over the last 28 years, the group has worked tirelessly to raise money for Macmillan.

The charity funds about 50 posts in Worcestershire, with nurses specialising in care for lung cancer, skin cancer, gynaecology, chemotherapy, head and neck and palliative (end of life) care, as well as other services.

There are four Macmillan Information Support Centres in hospitals in Redditch, Worcester and Kidderminster, giving free information and support.

Each costs around £52,000 a year to run.

Philip Roberts, chairman of the Redditch and District Committee, said: "Everyone on the committee wants people living with cancer to have a less difficult journey as a result of the funds we have raised, and continue to raise."

He added the money raised will fund a wide range of Macmillan services in Worcestershire.

Sarah Diston, from Macmillan, said: "The money the Redditch and District Committee have raised is outstanding.

"Their endless commitment to helping us raise vital funds needed to support people living with cancer from the moment they are diagnosed never ceases to amaze us.

"Thank you does not come close to expressing the incredible appreciation we feel for all the time and effort they have put into raising such a phenomenal amount of money. We simply wouldn’t be able to provide the services we have locally without their support."