More than £1,000 money has been raised by a budding mountaineer Ted Bradley for a cancer charity, despite being unable to undertake his sponsored challenge. Ted Bradley was planning to travel to Bolivia to complete a mountaineering expedition in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support next month but cannot make it out because of personal reasons.

Although Ted's partner, Ian Morgan of Asda completed the 2009 Conwy half-marathon to raise funds, and Greenfield councillor Rosetta Dolphin, have still raised more than £1,000 for the cancer charity. "I'm absolutely gutted not to be able to fly out to join the expedition next month, but I'm going a long way to consoling myself by starting to plan a bigger, even more exciting fundraising mountaineering adventure for late next year or early 2012." said Ted

A cheque for £870 was presented by Ted to Eleri Brady, the Fundraising Manager for Macmillan Cancer Support North Wales, last week and has raised the rest of the money online through www. justgiving. com. Tickets are £5 per person, available from Ramada Da Vinci's and there will be a sweepstake with the chance to win a VIP Sex and The City Package. All proceeds are going to Macmillan Cancer Support.

Alexander McCall Smith, one of the bestselling authors has written a new chapter for cancer services in the Highlands. The handover came yesterday when Professor McCall Smith publicly opened the new Macmillan Cancer charity's information and support service at Fort William.