TWENTY-FIVE people showing early signs of bowel cancer have been treated by the Clear Cancer Campaign's clinics within 18 months.

The Rotary Club of Skipton has raised more than £117,000 for the campaign, enough to run the only dedicated bowel cancer clinics in the country at Airedale Hospital for the next five years.

And it will pay for an ongoing education programme.

At a presentation ceremony this week, Rotarians thanked the thousands of local people who had helped make the campaign such a success.

Raja Kapadia, who leads the clinics, said that doctors had seen 250 people. Some had benign conditions and others were treated for more serious diseases.

He added that backing the clinics was an awareness campaign which had reached and educated 60,000 people in the Craven area.

GP Dr Bruce Woodhouse, who led the education initiative, said that the campaign's lasting legacy was that bowel cancer was no longer a taboo subject.

"We have a population who know something about it before the rest of the county. No-one else has a system like Clear," he said.

He added that leaflet drops would continue to keep residents informed over the coming years.

The Clear campaign was pioneered by Brian Ludlam who was diagnosed with bowel cancer four years ago and has since come through four operations. He persuaded fellow Rotarians in Skipton to set up the Clear Charity and concentrate all their fundraising to raising £100,000.

The support from local people exceeded all expectations.

Amongst the fundraisers were £11,976 from dragon boat races on Coniston Lake, £28,420 in corporate donations and £7,540 from an abseil down the fire station tower. Individuals and groups singled out included wing walker Isobel Hennigan, the Skipton Masonic Lodge and Rita Richardson and Phillip Blackburn from the Forrester's Arms in Grassington who encouraged their customers to fill many collecting tins as possible.