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Until recently Les Brechin had led a relatively ordinary life. An avid football fan he's worked in the accounts department of a Grimsby and Immingham based electrical retailers for nearly 28 years, almost since leaving school.

He had no real medical history to speak of, but started getting a series of headaches which he put down to working at a computer screen during his working day. He made an appointment with an optician whom after examining him gave him a letter referring him to the local hospital. He was admitted to hospital the same day and after some scans were taken of his brain, a tumour was diagnosed. Medical staff said it had likely to have been growing for six months and would continue to do so, possibly with dire consequences.

Les in hospital

He was transferred to the Hull Royal Infirmary where he had two operations and spent nearly four weeks in hospital. He was visited everyday by family who spent hundreds of pounds in tolls to cross the Humber Bridge to check on his recovery. Having been discharged, unfortunately he had to make a return visit to the hospital when the wound started to leak. Another extended stay in hospital meantΜύ he missed Grimsby Town's visit to Wembley in March and was devastated when his cherished ticket to the game was sold. Even though the Mariners were beaten, Les was devastated not to see his team play on the hallowed turf.

Les's situation is much improved although he will have to return to hospital later in the year for another operation to have a section of his skull bones replaced by a porcelain replacement that will be made in Italy. He was told from the outset that tests showed the tumour was almost certainly benign and is looking forward to a good recovery which will see him back driving his car.

Since his return to work, Les had been keen to help raise money into the research of why brain tumours occur. It's a condition that can strike anyone and there appears to be no hereditary factors involved.

Les has had an interest in Sunday League football for years and has supported various clubs in a number of administration roles. He decided to arrange a football tournament based at the local sports club in Grimsby. Lots of local teams were involved including the SW Steelers of which he is secretary. There were raffles and other fundraising events based around the tournament and even though SW Steelers were beaten in the final, he wasn't too disappointed as the day raised hundreds of pounds in excess of his Β£1000 target. The cup Les is holding is the prize supplied by Gradely Sports for the winners of the tournament.

The amount raised far exceeded his expectations and a national representative from Brain Tumour UKΜύ is set to visit Grimsby to receive a cheque on behalf of the charity. Les says he's overwhelmed by the generosity of people in the Grimsby area and the support he has received from family, friends and well-wishers. He's now looking at other ways of raising money to help support continuing research into his condition.

Les says he is willing to talk to anyone who'd like more information about the condition and his fundraising efforts. His email address is below.

September 2008

Les sent us this picture of the cheque presentation of the money raised by the football tournament for Brain Tumour UK:

The picture features:Μύ L to R - Ryan Bennett, Nathan Jarman, Karl Johnson, Trudy Thomas (Fundraising Secretary), Alan Buckley, Les's mum , Les, Nick Hegarty and Grant Normington. Karl, Trudy are also brain tumour survivors.