THE owners of a Weymouth fish and chip shop are set to host their biggest ever fundraiser to raise awareness of prostate cancer.

John and Karen Pearce, who own Alf’s Fish and Chip Shop in Lynch Road, are attempting to raise money on behalf of New-Man Prostate Cancer Support Group.

The support group sponsors free prostate cancer test days for men.

Alf’s Fish and Chip Shop will hold a giant raffle with a £1,000 cash first prize.

The runner-up will receive £200 in cash and there will be five consolation prizes with each recipient receiving £10.

Local businesses have donated money for the prizes, including: Bingham Grange, Upton Grange, Dowsetts, Real World Security and Heatcare UK Ltd.

John said: “A lot of customers who come in, quite a few of them have had prostate cancer.

“Ladies get scans every so often for breast cancer. Men don’t check for prostate cancer.

“Last year, New-Man Prostate Cancer Support paid for 577 men to be tested and found that 97 of them needed to be referred to their GP.

“Of those, half of them were found to have prostate cancer.”

Graham Smith, a member of New-Man Prostate Cancer Support Group, said money raised would go towards funding more free tests for men.

Mr Smith was diagnosed with prostate cancer in his early 60s after asking his GP for a Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test.

He said: “I was aware that you had to ask for it and I was aware many GPs are not keen to do it.

“It’s not a reliable indicator but equally it’s the best we’ve got.”

Mr Smith, who holds the title of Lord Binghams Worth, was seen to quickly and received high intensity focused ultrasound treatment. His condition continues to be monitored.

He said: “If you find it early, whilst it is within the prostate gland, it can almost always be eradicated.

“If it is not discovered and escalates into the rest of your body, the outcome is considerably more bleak.”

Alf’s Fish and Chip Shop is well known in the community for having raised money for a variety of causes over the years.

Mr Pearce said: “This is the biggest fundraiser we have ever done.

“Since me and Karen have been her we have raised about £30,000 for charities.

“We’d like to thank the Dorset Echo and its readers who support us. We couldn’t do it without them.”

Anyone who would like to buy a raffle ticket or make a donation should visit Alf’s Fish and Chip Shop. The raffle will be drawn on Wednesday, June 1.