It was ten years ago that my best mate Anthony Ashley died from Skin Cancer. Tony was a detective and my partner at work in the Metropolitan Police. He was a great copper and proud to be doing something that could help others. He was very much a family man dedicated to his wife Jane, son Michael and daughter Eleanor.

Out of the blue one day in early 2006, he showed me a mole on his arm that he said was bleeding. I knew it didn’t look good and told him to go to the Doctor as soon as possible. It transpired that Tony had skin cancer and by the end of that year he had died. We were all devastated. My son, Rafe Anthony was born the following year and named in memory of Anthony. In some respects it seems a longtime ago now ( I have retired from the police), but my memory of Anthony is still strong.

The photo shows Tony with my daughter Tiggy (now 15)


Skcin are a small charity aimed at educating and raising awareness on the subject of sun safety and the early detection of skin cancers in order to save lives and amongst other things focus a lot of their work in schools and nurseries. Prevention is sometimes the best cure.


So. I am running in memory of Anthony and hope to raise just a little bit of money to go towards preventing other premature deaths from this aggressive form of cancer.