A FATHER-of-two, who raised thousands of pounds for charity after completing 12 marathons in a year in memory of his wife, has received an award.

Michael Lilley, from Blackburn, lost his wife Elizabeth in 2016, aged just 42, after she had been diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2009.

He took on the mammoth monthly challenge as a thank you to the charity which helped support Elizabeth and raised a staggering £17,500 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

His efforts have seem him receive a regional volunteer award from the charity.

He has received the North West Douglas Macmillan Award for promoting Macmillan and having a significant impact in the local community.

The award is given in recognition of volunteers who represent and speak up for Macmillan and, in doing so, help raise money, win corporate support or get essential media coverage.

The quality manager at BAE Systems ran a dozen marathons in 12 months, including London, Malaga and New York.

Michael said he was ‘proud’ to have to won the award and said he had took on the challenge to give something back to Macmillan for ‘all the support they gave to him and his family’.

He said: “I’m really proud to have been nominated, and then win, the award, but more so to have helped raise £17,500 for Macmillan and knowing what that will do to help people affected by cancer.

“ I didn’t set out to complete such a tough challenge for accolades, but simply because I wanted to give something back to Macmillan for all the support they gave to me and my family.”

Jane Melvin, Macmillan’s head of service in the North West, thanked Michael for his ‘incredible efforts’.

She said: “Macmillan was set up by a volunteer over 100 years ago, and our volunteers are crucial in helping us to ensure that no one has to face cancer alone.

“We wanted to use Volunteers’ Week to say a well-deserved ‘thank you’ to all the people who give their time to help us.

We also wanted to thank Michael for his incredible efforts to help people affected by cancer.

“At Macmillan, we have a variety of volunteering roles and we always like to hear from people that might be interested in helping us out, because whether it’s minutes or months, hours or days, whatever time you can give really will matter.”

Currently, there are 2.5 million people living with cancer in the UK.

Macmillan Cancer Support provides practical, emotional and personal support to people affected by cancer every year.

The charity is there to support people during treatment, help with work and money worries, and listen when people need to talk about their feelings.

It receives no government funding and relies on generous donations from the public.

Each year, people host or attend events including the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning to show their support for the charity.

Anyone interested in finding out about how to volunteer for Macmillan should visit www.macmillan.org.uk/volunteer, email volunteering@macmillan.org.uk or call 0300 1000 200.