Don’t be shy says great-grandfather as he appeals to other men ahead of fundraiser for Sunderland prostate cancer team

Jimmy Collings, from Murton, is working with friends to host an evening of entertaining tomorrow night at the Glebe Centre in his home village.

Cash raised from the celebration will be gifted to the urology department at Sunderland Royal, which is helping keep a check on his own condition.

The 73-year-old, who worked at NSK in Peterlee before his retirement, said: “When I found out I had prostate cancer the Macmillan nurse said to me ‘Don’t go home and mope’ and I said I don’t mope, and I love organising things for charity, I enjoy it and that’s where this come from.

“I was diagnosed three years ago.

“Me and my wife had gone away on the Wednesday to visit family and I was peeing blood.

“I told my wife about it and we went home early and I went to see the doctors straight away and they took some blood and by the next Monday I knew.

“Men sometimes keep things to themselves, but if they opened up, talked to someone, it wouldn’t play on their minds and they wouldn’t do something stupid, they’d get help.

“It’s their health and future at stake.

“I said I wanted to do something for prostate cancer because they have helped me, so I wanted to give something back to help other people.”

Jimmy, who is a member of Durham Constabulary Male Voice Choir, is married to Margaret, 72, and is a dad of four daughters, a grandfather of 11 and great-grandfather of seven.

He has organised tomorrow’s evening with the help of Billy Jones, 80, with the pair building on a host of events put on to support good causes across the area.

The bill includes a series of live acts who tour clubs, including Peter Kelly, Karen Kennedy, Deborah Taylor-Smith and the due Simply Vocal, with a bar to be open, and a raffle supported by local businesses and supporters.

Doors to the event start open at 7pm and tickets cost £6 from the venue, with admission also on the door.