A former cancer patient has raised thousands of pounds for charity after embarking on a 127-mile walk, just weeks after surgery to remove a kidney tumour.

Howard Jackson, of Baildon, walked the entire length of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal to raise more than £2,350 for charity, with £1,675 going to Kidney Research UK and £675 to help uro-oncology services at Ward 14 at Bradford Royal Infirmary where he was treated.

Mr Jackson, 55, principal lecturer in the marketing department at the University of Huddersfield, started feeling pain in his kidney area in early 2007.

"It was a dull ache that didn't go away," he said.

His GP organised an X-ray and when this failed to reveal anything, an ultra-sound scan was carried out, which unfortunately revealed a growth on one of Mr Jackson's kidneys.

"To praise the National Health Service, once they had that information it took just six weeks from then to the actual surgery," said Mr Jackson.

Surgeons at Bradford Royal Infirmary carried out a partial nephrectomy in a four-hour operation to remove the affected part of the kidney.

"I was in hospital for five days and they told me I made a perfect recovery," said Mr Jackson, who describes his scar as looking like a "shark-bite".

"In three weeks I was starting the walk."

Mr Jackson carried out the walk in stages, covering three miles on the first day and building up, depending on how much time he had available and how he was feeling.

He praised his wife of 30 years Susan, his children Helen, 26, and Mark 24, and his friends and colleagues, for helping him to complete the walk and raise so much money. "Without the support of my family and friends the walk would not have been possible," he said.

"My wife walked about half of it herself and she often ferried me to different starting points.

"Both my daughter and son joined in the last section. About 20 of us walked the final leg on November 10 from Rawdon to the end at Leeds.

"And I have had some amazing donations - it was nice to think that people wanted to support me."