Pioneering research is being carried out into a rare cancer which killed a young Bingley man - thanks to the proceeds of his memorial fund.

Money from the Alex Boag Sarcoma Fund has already enabled a postdoctoral scientist to be appointed at London's Royal Marsden Hospital.

And now a £30,500 donation has enabled the hospital's Sarcoma Unit to buy a special mircroarray scanner, which is being used to try to identify the gene which triggers the cancer.

It is hoped the research will improve the diagnosis and treatment of sarcoma.

The memorial fund - run by Alex's girlfriend Nicola Franks and sister Philippa Boag-Sharland - was started following the 29-year-old's death on November 4, 1998.

Alex - who grew up in Bingley and attended Bradford Grammar School - fought a two-year battle against sarcoma, which affects the body's soft tissues.

The past two years has seen £50,000 generated in his memory through various activities.

Alex's father, Bill Boag, 74, of Bingley, said the family were delighted to be able to help fund the research, adding: ''Hopefully it will help a lot of future sarcoma sufferers get the right type of treatment and prevent others from suffering as Alex did.

"He would definitely approve of what's being done and it means a lot to us to know that other people will hopefully have a better chance of survival in the future.''

Alex Pritchard, of the Royal Marsden, said: ''If we can identify the gene that triggers sarcoma it will help us with early diagnosis and give us an insight into the growth rate of tumours, their tendency to spread and response to treatment.

"The scanner's enabling us to investigate thousands of genes, rather than doing it manually, which is saving a lot of time.''

She added: ''They've been absolutely fantastic and raised an enormous amount of money to enable us to do things we probably wouldn't otherwise have been able to fund.''