ROGER Fairman, organiser of a charity event at The Vic, was left with tears in his eyes because of the great support he received.

The fundraiser called Kit Off for Cancer took place at the Victoria Road pub, in Old Town, on Sunday. It was in aid of Cancer Research UK and Brain Tumour UK.

In 1976, Roger’s wife Debbie died from cervical cancer and last year one of his daughters, Vicky, 25, died of a brain tumour.

Roger’s daughter Kelly, 40, set up Kit Off For Cancer in 2010, holding fundraisers and producing naked calendars, in the Calendar Girls spirit, raising thousands of pounds for the charities.

Roger’s weekend fundraiser didn’t feature a calendar but it did include a performance by band Banjovi and a raffle with lots of prizes donated by local businesses.

Roger, 61, originally from Kent, who moved to Swindon last year, said: “The day was brilliant, we had loads and loads of people come and support the event. The band were brilliant and they dedicated a song to me which left me with a few tears in my eyes. They had everyone up dancing and I hope we have raised a lot of money for the charities.”

The father of four will be meeting with Darren Simons, who runs the Vic, this week, to count the money which was taken in during the event. The pair are also discussing the possibility of producing a calendar for next year to support Kit Off for Cancer.

Roger said: “This is the first time we’ve done anything in Swindon and its all been a little hectic but I’m so pleased by how well everything went. I rang my daughter Kelly, who lives down south, to tell her how it went and she’s delighted.

“We’ve had great support throughout this and I’d like to thank all the businesses in Victoria Road and at Blunsdon Market for the prizes. I’d also like to thank the band and the Swindon Advertiser for their support.

“The biggest thank you needs to go to Darren though as without him we wouldn’t have had a venue and the event couldn’t have gone ahead.”

The event raised £528.13. Anyone who could not attend but would like to donate can call 01793 535713 or email thevicswindon@gmail.com