THOUSANDS were raised by music fans who turned out to celebrate a friend’s all clear from cancer recently.

Brian Alderson, who had battled bowel cancer for five years, celebrated his good news by organising a punk gig at The Forum in Darlington.

It was the latest in a series of yearly gigs organised by Mr Alderson in a bid to give something back to the Macmillan nurses who supported him throughout his ordeal.

Bands including The Glory, Citizen Keyne, Tear Up and Boots n All joined North-East acts Boilermaker and Kickback Generation at the fourth annual Punk and Oi! Charity Bash.

The gig, which also featured an auction and raffle, raised £4,032.44 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Mr Alderson, 52, said: “It turned out to be a fantastic day and night with great music. Getting the all-clear after a five year battle with cancer made it an even more memorable gig.”

He pledged to continue organising gigs, adding: “This means so much to me and we’re already booking bands for 2018. There’s a lot of hard work that goes into these events so I would like to thank everyone."