A YOUNG man who fought a rare type of cancer joined others recovering from the disease on a four-day sailing trip.

Matthew Hadden, from Darlington, was part of an expedition on board a yacht on the Firth of Clyde, in Scotland, with the Ellen MacArthur Trust, supported by the People’s Postcode Lottery.

Mr Hadden, aged 26, has been battling Osteosarcoma – a rare type of bone cancer that mostly affects teenagers and young adults, particularly around the knee joint – and finished his treatment for the condition, at the Freeman Hospital, in Newcastle, last November.

It was the first time Mr Hadden had been sailing and he described the experience as ‘amazing’.

He said:“Everyone was so inspirational on the trip and everyone’s story is different and unique but equally as difficult.

“It was nice to see that everyone can band together and get on and go and do some amazing stuff after they have been through such an awful diagnosis.

“I think a lot of people have learnt a lot of different things about themselves.

“It is very much an inclusive area where no questions are frowned upon.

“I’m going to miss the team aspect of everything and having people doing a similar thing around you with no one putting any pressure on you.

“It’s so nice to live in your own little bubble for a while, to get away and process things.

“I’d tell people to go and do it and get stuck in and you’ll learn something new about yourself."

The Trust trips run throughout the summer each year and the young people on-board are encouraged to work as a team and get involved in everything from helming the boat to cooking.

Launched in 2003, the aim of the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust is to give young people in recovery from cancer the chance to rebuild their confidence through sailing.

The Trust receives no government funding and relies entirely on voluntary donations to provide sailing trips free of charge.

The People’s Postcode Lottery has been supporting the charity for the last four years.

Dame Ellen, who tries to spend a day on as many trips as possible, added: “The mental and social fall-out from cancer can be just as devastating as the physical illness. Everything we do is about building confidence, self-esteem and having fun together.”