‘I WILL keep on doing all I can to help’, pledges a Deeside man who has raised over one million pounds for charity.

Over the last 47 years, Ray Woolley from Deeside has been raising funds for Cancer Research UK through various fundraising efforts.

The most popular is an annual row from Connah’s Quay to Chester, a total of 12-miles, which he will be completing on June 27.

Being on the Deeside Volunteers Committee, Ray gets help from fellow volunteers, but he will be taking on the row solo this year.

He told the Leader he has been organising fundraising events for almost 50 years after sadly losing his brother to the disease early on in life.

Anyone wishing to donate can do so online at https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/rays-row

He told the Leader: “I come from a fishing family so I used to row all the time but I kept it going. When my brother died at a young age, I went to visit him and I pledged then and there that if I could do anything to help I would, this is my way of helping.

“I will keep it going for as long as I can, times have changed but you have to keep going. You have to help where you can. I’ve raised well over a million pounds but it’s not just me, we are a team on the committee.”

Last year, Mr Woolley decided to take on an extra row to pay tribute to the ongoing work of the NHS during the coronavirus pandemic.