FOLLOWING the death of a Darlington plumber who lost his short battle with a rare cancer in May, a town's Poundland is hosting a raffle in aid.

A raffle will take place at 4pm on Sunday, June 28 at Poundland on 26 High Row Darlington, in memory of dad-of-one Liam Newton and aid of AMMF, the UK’s only cholangiocarcinoma – known as bile duct cancer – charity.

The charity raffle has been supported with extensive gift donations from local businesses and individuals, all having been deeply moved by Mr Newton's story, who lost his fight with the rare cancer that is normally seen later in life – not in 28-year-olds.

Joanne Hammond, manager at Darlington’s Poundland store, is gearing up for what she hopes will be an epic charity raffle to raise funds for the charity.

Ms Hammond, after reading about Mr Newton's death via his wife Jacqueline's social media, appealed to her loyal and generous ‘Poundlanders’ and to her other online friends and followers for gift donations towards the charity raffle.

In February, Mr Newton was told he had one year to live. At a hospital appointment in April, this had rapidly declined to just two weeks.

The newlywed, who was described as "the nicest person ever", lived for three.

Through his business Newton Plumbing and Heating, Mr Newton was well known in the town.

Hundreds lined North Road to say goodbye to the man, who loved his family and being outdoors, as his funeral could not be widely attended as a result of coronavirus restrictions.

Reflecting the man's popularity, within 24 hours of her appeal for raffle items, Ms Hammond had received gift donations worth in excess of £500 ranging from Domino’s Pizza vouchers, Sainsbury’s gift cards and chocolate selection hampers, to luxury beauty salon treatments, gym vouchers, and tickets to a November meet and greet event in Hartlepool with a TV drag artist.

All the money raised from the sale of raffle tickets will go directly to AMMF, which is dedicated to tackling the disease with a multi-pronged approach, from providing information and support, campaigning and raise awareness to encouraging and supporting research.

In recent years, there has been worldwide increase in cholangiocarcinoma’s incidence has been noted.

Latest figures show there were 2,161 deaths caused by cholangiocarcinoma in 2013 in England alone, which appears to be increasing across all age groups, including younger people. The cause of which is currently unknown.