WHEN Michelle Phillips read about a young man's cancer fight, she knew she wanted to help.

So she collected hundreds of golf balls that had been hit into a field in Lydiard Millicent she uses to sell for Harry Martin's fundraiser.

Harry and his family

Harry and his family

The 25-year-old from Old Town, is fighting a rare brain cancer, which is inoperable and has spread to his spine. He is hoping to raise £150,000 to fund private consultations and experimental treatments.

Michelle, of Grange Park, said: “When I heard of what had happened to Harry, at such a young age, I thought we have got to fight for his life.

“I can’t imagine not supporting him. I haven’t got much money to give – there’s probably £100 I’ve put in, but I’ve shared as much as I can on social media."

Michelle said she realised selling the golf balls would be a good way to help and she was pleased to clear them as they were a risk to the animals in the field.

“Thankfully since I’ve put a post on Facebook, we haven’t had anymore.

"In the summer we were picking up between 30 or 50 balls a day. I share the field with a farmer.

"We have cattle in the field and calves, and calves would eat anything, so, it’s been quite a worrying time.”

Michelle runs a mental health group called Mind Harmony supporting people who cannot afford personal coaching. She donated the last session's proceeds to Harry’s fund and will be doing the same for the next two.

She has managed to sell the golf balls for £40 but her initiative has drawn attention on social media for Harry’s fund.

Harry told the Adver: “The support from the community has been astonishing. It really has. The sheer amount of kindness and generosity that I have witnessed has been a truly humbling experience.

“And it just goes to show that generally, people are kind souls and will support each other in times of need. I really had no clue how far it would go.

“Many people I’ve never met, or old school friends that I’ve lost contact with, have been rallying support and setting up their own fundraising challenges and activities for us to bring in more donations.”

He has raised more than £93,000 since he launched his GoFundme page a few months ago.

The young man who had dreams of joining the army, said: “It has been a huge help that myself, my fiancée Sinéad and family are extremely grateful for.

“The chemotherapy has been stopped after a recent scan showed significant progression of the tumours in my spine,” Harry said.

“I am now being moved on to a support care plan and no further treatment is available/recommended by my oncologist.”

“The German clinic has finished the tumour analysis and we will be discussing the options based on those results soon.”

To donate to Harry's fund, click here.