A GRIEVING family mourning a much-loved father-of-two who died last year are preparing to honour his memory with the game he loved.

Royal Mail postman Anthony Lochrane was told at age 40 that he had glioblastoma multiforme – a fast-growing aggressive brain tumour causing symptoms similar to that of a stroke.

Anthony was given a prognosis of six to 18 months, but following a course of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, which caused the tumour to shrink, he enjoyed relatively good health and enjoyed two-and-a-half years without a great deal of suffering.

However, the treatment eventually stopped working, leaving Anthony with no more options, as the tumour was inoperable. Just four years after the shock diagnosis Anthony died in July 2018.

Since then, his family, including 19-year-old Lucy and 15-year-old Charlie, have been mourning their devoted dad and hoped to come up with a fitting way to pay tribute to the popular postie.

Anthony’s wife Lisa, who also works for the Royal Mail, said: “Tony’s loss devastated not only his family but all those who knew him. He was such a popular guy; he worked for the postal service for 26 years and made many good friends during that time.

“The statistics surrounding research into brain tumours are really shocking and we wanted to do something to raise money to help find a cure for this terrible disease.”

The family hope to fundraise for Brain Tumour Research with a charity football match on July 21 to mark the one year anniversary since Anthony’s death.

The Middlesbrough v England match at the Dorman’s Club in Middlesbrough will run alongside a family fun day between 11am and 6pm and will feature a guest appearance from the he Liverpudlian actor George Christopher, who played Ziggy Greaves in Grange Hill and Little Jimmy Corkhill in Brookside.

Mrs Lochrane added: “We’ve had many dark days since Tony died but we want this day to be a real celebration of his life and a nice day for everyone to remember him.

“Tony was a massive football fan, so it seemed like a fitting way of paying tribute to him.

“You don’t know what it’s like watching someone you love dying from this terrible disease, until you go through it yourself.”