A FOOTBALL tournament organised to support a firefighter battling cancer has raised £1,150.

Michael Matthews, 42, was diagnosed with stomach and pancreatic cancer at the end of August.

He is raising money to cover his funeral costs and to support his three children. 

Mr Matthews was an on-call firefighter at Dovercourt before joining Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service as a wholetime firefighter three years ago.

Crew manager Norman Gooch organised a five-a-side tournament at Little Oakley Football Club on Sunday to help raise money for Mr Matthews.

Mr Gooch said: “Thank you to everyone who took part. The main thing was that everyone had fun and we raised some money for Michael, who is in good spirits and stayed until the end to present the trophy.

“A big thank you must go to Little Oakley Football Club for letting us use their facilities, to Tesco for the food and a hamper for the raffle and all the other local business that donated raffle prizes.”

Teams from Dovercourt fire station, Wholetime Recruits (Witham), Essex Fire support colleagues, the East of England Ambulance Service, Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise, Little Oakley Football Club and other sides took part.

Mr Gooch added: “The day wouldn’t have been possible without help from firefighter Steve Rowse on the barbecue, Firefighter Chris Smith who refereed every match, at times in torrential rain, and retired Dovercourt firefighters Terry Page and Ken Dalby; it was a real team effort.

To donate visit bit.ly/3EicxsU .