Some of the biggest names in sport will be helping a former lifeguard raise cash for a new charity to help people suffering from a rare form of cancer.

Snooker star Paul Hunter, who is battling against the disease, will be the guest of honour at the Big Night Out organised by Cathy Douglas.

Alongside Hunter at the fundraising ball at Ilkley's Lido will be tennis ace Tim Henman and former Yorkshire and England cricketer Darren Gough.

Mrs Douglas, 34, a new mother, said the 450-seat marquee event at the Lido on Saturday, September 16, would be a poignant night for Hunter because he is fighting the kind of cancer the ball is raising awareness and cash for.

Mrs Douglas, whose first-ever job was at the Lido, has teamed up with four friends calling themselves Moor-Fizz to make the Big Night Out become Ilkley's glitziest and most glamorous ball ever.

Tickets are already selling in advance for £110 each or £1,000 for a table of ten.

Mrs Douglas met Paul Hunter when he was an amateur player and trained at a Yeadon health club where she once worked. When she heard of his plight she got in touch with his wife Lindsey, one of her friends.

She said: "I had been looking for a worthy cause for the ball when I heard about Paul's cancer.

"I got in touch to find out if they were supporting a charity and they told me it was such a rare form of the disease they were involved with some people trying to set up a national charity to tell more people about it."

Now the Big Night Out will be the official launch-pad for the NET Patient Foundation incorporating Living With Carcinoid. Hunter, 27, was diagnosed with the rare, slow-progressing neuroendocrine tumours two years ago.

At first doctors first thought he had bowel cancer but more tests eventually showed up tumours in his intestines.

Neuroendocrine tumours are hormonal tumours which can grow anywhere in the body, developing from cells that line the gut.

Despite chemotherapy numbing his hands and feet, Hunter has refused to give up his sport and took part in this year's World Championships in Sheffield. Before the cancer struck, he had won several major titles.

Plans for the Big Night Out are coming together, starting with a champagne reception and an auction included in the line-up.

"Tim Henman has already promised us an incredible pledge to go under the hammer but we're keeping it under wraps until nearer the time, along with lots more surprises on the night," said Mrs Douglas who now works as a health care manager.

"I've always wanted to do something big at The Lido. Even when I was a 17-year-old lifeguard there I used to let my mind wander to imagine what a ball would be like now I'm finally doing it for real.

"We're going to make it a night that Ilkley will never forget. The last one like that was a Jimi Hendrix concert in the Sixties."

Tim Henman said: "I'm looking forward to being there and helping out on the night.

"One of my own friends is being treated for neuroendocrine tumours at the moment so it's something I'm finding out more about and it's a cause I am happy to support."

To find out more about the Big Night out call 07818 012275 or 07932 690226. All proceeds will go to the NET Patient Foundation incorporating Living with Carcinoid charity.

Anyone wanting more information on the charity's work and about neuroendocrine tumours should visit www.net patientfoundation.com e-mail: kathie.griffiths@bradford.newsquest.co.uk