22/01/2010
A brave Rotherham man and his pals are plunging into the depths of a Derbyshire cave to raise money for a leading hospital where a friend is being treated for cancer.

Chris Clayton, 45, of Herringthorpe and 13 others, including his 16-year-old son, Rhys, will crawl and abseil down the P8 Jackpot cave in Castleton, pitching up camp inside for a full 48 hours in the hope of raising £1000 for Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity from sponsors.

The father of three, who works as a behavioural support teacher at Thybergh School and Sports College, Rotherham, and also as a part time climbing instructor for High Sports at Rotherham Leisure Centre, wanted to do something extraordinary to help friend of 18 years, Steve Griffiths, who is battling bowel, bladder and prostate cancer.

Originally, Chris planned to raise funds to send Steve, 53, a teaching assistant from Clifton, and his wife Janet, 47, on holiday to visit family in America, but his firm friend wished to donate the cash back to the charity, which supports Weston Park Hospital, Sheffield, where he is being treated.

Chris said: “When Steve heard about the caving expedition he was over the moon. We chose to raise money for the charity to alleviate some of the stress caused by the condition, which has scared my friend, and wanted to do something that scared me, to put things into perspective.”

The 1.8 kilometre long and 70 metre vertical range cave, which is one of the most popular in Derbyshire, bears its name after being eighth in the series of caves to be found in the area. Its network of complex passages makes it a great sporting venue for cavers.

Chris said: “I’ve been caving for about three years and the longest I’ve stayed underground was for around 10 hours, so it will be a real challenge because it’s such a complex cave and we’ll need to get to higher ground if there is wet weather and an insurgence of water. It will be an extremely claustrophobic experience, but all cavers will be well prepared.”

The group will vary from experienced cave explorers to complete novices, who will undergo extensive health and safety training. Because of the potential complexity of the event Chris has also enlisted the skills of outdoor learning instructor and experienced caver Mark Caseley.

“I know in my heart that Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity has done and will continue to do everything they can to help Steve, and have done an amazing job for him.”

Catherine Newman, senior fundraiser at Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity, said: “We truly admire Chris for attempting such a brave act of kindness for Steve, which shows how strong their bond is, and demonstrates a sincere friendship which can be rare to come across.

“We are even more thrilled and privileged that the pair have chosen to donate money raised to Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity, which will help us to support research, treatment and care for people living with cancer.”