IPSWICH may have lost the match on derby day but the Raise the Roof campaign came out a clear winner.More than £7,000 was raised following a sponsored walk from Mendlesham to Portman Road the day before and a collection on the day itself.

IPSWICH may have lost the match on derby day but the Raise the Roof campaign came out a clear winner.

More than £7,000 was raised following a sponsored walk from Mendlesham to Portman Road the day before and a collection on the day itself.

The £7,500 raised will go to Cancer Campaign in Suffolk (CCIS) who joined with the Evening Star to raise the final £100,000 to build a cancer education and information centre at Ipswich Hospital.

CCIS launched the £300,000 project in 1998 and by April this year had raised around £200,000 before linking up with the Evening Star to raise the rest of the money.

The walk was arranged by Graham Lockwood from Mendlesham who has cancer himself and has raised tens of thousands of pounds for cancer charities.

He is founder of MAST – the Mendlesham Action and Support Team.

Although he was unable to do the 15 mile walk himself, a team of supporters, Angie Lockwood, Sue Gayfer, Mark Finbow and Simon Milton got their walking boots on and braved the pouring rain to do it.

Mr Lockwood said: "The real winners on Saturday were cancer victims like myself, and we owe a special vote of thanks to Simon Milton, who is a tireless ambassador for MAST.

"Thanks also to David Sheepshanks and Rosie Cannone at Ipswich Town FC for their help and support".

"We also greatly value the support of our main sponsors, CPL Aromas, Lamva Ltd., TNT Logistics, David Clark & Associates, and all the individuals who gave of their time and resources to make the event a success".

n. If you would like to give money to the new centre, donations should be made out to Raise the Roof and sent c/o Geraldine Thompson, Editor's Secretary, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN.