A SELFLESS grandfather who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer is selling his beloved motorbike to raise money for two charities close to his heart.

Rowland Hickey found out recently that he has lung cancer, and was given the devastating news that he may only have six months left to live, having already fought throat cancer.

Instead of wallow in self-pity, the 59-year-old father-of-three from Rooksdown has instead decided to do something positive to help others, by organising a raffle to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support and The Ark Cancer Centre Charity.

Rowland, who has been riding motorbikes since he was 17-years-old, built a Suzuki rf900 himself two years ago, but is no longer able to ride it after the cancer affected his spine.

So, the grandfather-of-three is selling raffle tickets for £20 each, with everything over the bike’s £1,200 face value going to the causes.

Rowland, who used to work as a chef at The Ark Conference Centre, said: “It was the first bike I built and I’ve used it a lot, it’s been to Scotland and back. But I can’t ride anymore because of the cancer. My riding days are over. There’s lots of pressure on your back when you ride so I have to be careful.”

He has already raised more than the bike’s worth, with over £2,200 donated online, and more is expected to be raised tomorrow (Friday), when Rowland’s bike will be showcased at Basingstoke Rugby Club in Down Grange, at an event to mark the end of Ark Day – a 24-hour fundraising drive to generate money for The Ark Cancer Centre.

The raffle draw will take place the following week on June 30, when one lucky person will win the bike.

To buy a £20 raffle ticket or make a donation go to facebook.com and search for ‘Rowland’ in the ‘fundraisers’ section.

The Gazette will be running a live blog on Friday, covering all Ark Day fundraising activities. Send details of what you are doing for the day and any pictures to newsdesk@basingstokegazette.co.uk.