CELEBRATIONS are being held next month to mark the tenth anniversary of the Sir Bobby Robson fundraising foundation which has, so far, created an £11m legacy.

In 2008, Sir Bobby launched his foundation after a request for help from his oncologist Professor Ruth Plummer.

Professor Plummer was treating Sir Bobby as he faced cancer for the fifth – and what he knew would be the final time.

She needed to raise £500,000 to equip a new cancer drug trials centre at the Northern Centre for Cancer Care in Newcastle and asked him if he knew anyone who might like to donate.

Sir Bobby responded by launching a charity to get the money she needed and the reaction to that appeal was a flavour of what was to be a hugely successful campaign, and the initial £500,000 was raised within seven weeks.

On Sunday, March 25, the foundation will celebrate its 1tenth anniversary at an informal get-together of fundraisers, Lady Elsie, patrons and trustees, at the Copthorne Hotel in Newcastle, which is where Sir Bobby launched the foundation a decade ago.

Liz Luff, foundation spokeswoman, said: “The legacy that Sir Bobby left us in the form of this foundation is awe-inspiring and amazing – it’s just phenomenal. The faith and commitment of all those who have supported us is just incredible and the anniversary get-together will be a way of thanking people who have and continue to be involved.”

In February 2009, the work of the foundation took another step forward and Sir Bobby officially opened the Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre, on the Freeman Hospital site in Newcastle.

“The foundation is about team work,” said Ms Luff. “Hundreds of people have supported us over the past ten years, putting in a huge amount of energy and we hope people will continue to do so for the future.

“There are people successfully fighting cancer thanks to Sir Bobby.

“The anniversary get together is just an extension of the regular meetings we have, so we have invited trustees and fundraisers to come and celebrate the foundation’s work.”

Sir Bobby died in July 2009, aged 76, but the foundation continues to break fundraising records, raising money to fund the early detection and treatment of cancer, and clinical trials of anti-cancer drugs.