A CHARITY crusader robbed of family and friends by cancer has smashed his fundraising target at a charity boxing match and landed a prestigious award nomination in the process.

Mark Solan raised more than £21,000 when he stepped into the ring for a boxing match in aid of Cancer Research and has since been nominated for a Pride of Britain Award.

For two months, Mark Solan trained for the Ultra White Collar Boxing (UWCB) fight at Rainton Meadows, on July 18, but his main motivation was not just victory but cash in the coffers of the charity.

The 42-year-old, from Spennymoor, was spurred on to knock-out cancer after losing his mother, Kay, grandmother, Edith, and friends to the disease.

He originally wanted to raise £1,000 but quickly passed that and set a new target of £10,500 - a record for a UWCB fundraising event - which he also beat.

He said: “Taking part in this boxing event brought a great sense of community spirit, people were stopping me in the street to donate, people were thanking me for what I was doing.

“I saw my Just Giving total from £1,000 to £5,000 and then it just kept on going until I hit £20,000.

“It’s an amazing feeling.”

Mr Solan has been nominated by many of his friends and family in The Daily Mirror's Pride of Britain Awards which celebrate the achievements of remarkable people.

He hopes to make it through the regional stages to the national shortlist before the winners are eventually honoured at a glittering London ceremony, which will be televised in October.

Mr Solan is also behindThe Solan Connor Fawcett Family Cancer Trust, a new trust which will directly help people suffering cancer and their families.

The manager of Woven fashion shop in Durham City, had an auction of designer goods and sold Team Solan T-shirts to boost the coffers of his charity.

He said: “It was crazy walking around my local supermarket seeing people in Team Solan T-shirts and asking me how I was getting on.”

UWCB has raised £1.7m for Cancer Research in the last 18 months with events in 80 cities, which see people with no boxing background get free coaching at The Unity Gym before taking part in a match in front of thousands of supporters.