A Haslemere man is picking up the torch from his seriously ill father by launching a £3,000 fundraising appeal – with every penny going directly to Macmillan’s Midhurst branch.

For 25 years, Malcolm Harris, 86, has been a familiar face in the local community, helping raise tens of thousands of pounds for the charity alongside his wife Jill and fellow volunteers.

Now, as Malcolm battles serious ill health and receives the very support he spent decades helping others access, his son Mark is determined to carry on his father’s work.

“After years of supporting them, my dad is now at the receiving end,” said Mark. “The last year of being ill got too much and he had to stop. I wanted to carry it on for him, show it won’t end with him.”

Malcolm and Jill have organised countless coffee mornings, jumble sales and quizzes for the Midhurst branch, alongside friends.

His community work has extended beyond Macmillan, including helping with the Haslemere Food Bank’s Christmas gift drive and organising fundraising concerts through his local church.

Jo Stuttaford, Service Lead for Midhurst Macmillan, said: “We are extremely grateful to Malcolm Harris for the fantastic support he has given Midhurst Palliative Care over the past 20 years.

“His dedication to fundraising has made a real difference to our charity and the services we are able to provide locally.”

She also thanked Mark for continuing his father’s legacy, adding that the money raised will help provide specialist palliative and end-of-life care across more than 400 square miles of Hampshire, Surrey and West Sussex.

Mark is asking people to donate even £5 – “basically the price of a cup of coffee” – towards his £3,000 target.

“It would mean so much to my father to know that his work is still going on,” he said. “We are all touched by cancer one way or another. We need Macmillan, and we need them to be there for people.”