NORTH-EAST football legend Bob Moncur returned to the hospital where he was treated for bowel cancer yesterday to urge over 60s to take a new test.

Mr Moncur, who won the Fairs Cup with Newcastle United in 1969, officially opened the North-East Bowel Cancer Screening Centre at Gateshead’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Although Mr Moncur’s cancer was found because he had symptoms, he has become a huge supporter of the national NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme.

People aged between 60 and 69 are invited to send samples so they can be tested for signs of possible bowel cancer.

The programme has five “hubs” across the country, including the one in Gateshead.

Graham Handley, director of the North-East hub, said: “Small stool samples on cards are sent through the post in very discreet foil packages.

“The laboratory then tests them for blood, which may indicate the presence of a cancer.

“If blood is present in several samples, the patient is referred to a specialist screening clinic for further tests.”

Mr Moncur, who also played for Sunderland, said: “I would encourage anyone who receives an invitation to take part to do so.

“It is very discreet and the knowledge that you don’t have bowel cancer, or can be treated successfully at an early stage, is much better than the alternative.”

He revealed that he only decided to see a doctor about his symptoms after reading an article in which the widow of former England captain Bobby Moore said he would have survived bowel cancer if he had sought medical advice earlier.

The £1m hub is responsible for screening more than 1.2 million people from across the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber for signs of bowel cancer.

It was the first in the country to invite everyone aged 60 to 69 to take part and is one of the first to extend the age range to 75.

The hub has already detected 370 cases.

It has sent out more than 930,000 invitations and will pass one million within a few weeks So far, it has received back more than 540,000 tests and referred about 8,500 people for further investigation.

■ Symptoms of bowel cancer to watch out for include blood in stools, a persistent change in bowel movements and abdominal pain and discomfort.