AN anonymous woman has donated £10,000 to a Wharfedale man's brave campaign to raise money for cancer research.

Andrew Shippey was diagnosed with testicular cancer at the age of 18 and has since run the London Marathon and the Great North Run to raise more than £5,800 for Imperial Cancer Research.

But the unnamed woman was so touched by 20-year-old Andrew's spirited recovery and fundraising efforts that she dropped a cheque for £10,000 through the door of the Shippey's home in Otley.

Accompanying it was an unsigned letter and a brief statement which said that the money was "to aid in the campaign to save lives with the ultimate goal of the total elimination of cancer for future generations."

Stunned Andrew, who was given only a two per cent chance of survival during treatment, said he could hardly express his gratitude to the mystery woman.

"Saying a big 'thank you' just doesn't seem enough. I'm so grateful to whoever this person is. The cheque arrived last Monday - I found it on the doormat of the house. I never saw anybody deliver it, but it was a nice find.

"It is brilliant to know that there are people out there like this woman who have been generous enough to support the appeal. It's amazing that someone would donate this amount.

"I've known for some time that this woman had pledged this amount of money. She phoned and wrote on a couple of occasions, but never revealed her identity. For a while we heard nothing - but to have it in your hands now is an incredible feeling."

His shocked mother, Margaret, added: "I'm over the moon with this donation, absolutely gobsmacked. It's a wonderful gesture from whoever this woman is - and the whole family would like to thank her for her generosity.

"I'm sure the woman will have seen the Wharfedale Observer's coverage and donated the money from there. The Observer has given us such a lot of publicity."

Andrew's running efforts have seen him raise £4,000. He also wrote to every Premier League football club for signed footballs for Cancer Research to auction off. The donated footballs raised £1,800.

Last year, the Wharfedale Observer lent its support to Andrew's fundraising efforts, with readers rallying around to donate money and organise events.

And Andrew is already planning a number of fundraising events for imperial Cancer Research and plans to run the London Marathon again.

His story and picture also features on Imperial Cancer Research Fund sponsor forms across the country, as well as a recent edition of the charity's national newsletter, Live Action.

"At one point the doctors said they couldn't commit themselves into saying I'd live through the next hour, let alone the next 24 hours or a week. By September 1997 I was proud to have walked the length of the ward - by last year I was the proudest person running the 26 miles of the London Marathon.

"It was a fantastic challenge for me and a great opportunity to give something back to an organisation that saved my life," he added.

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