FRIENDS and colleagues of JN Bentley’s Mick Lister have started a fundraising page so he and his wife can visit their sons and families in South Africa after he undergoes treatment for cancer.

Colleague Jody Belcher said Mick was the ‘cheeriest and happiest man on the team’ of civil engineers despite all he had gone through and felt he deserved to see his family.

“He is a great guy and has gone through a lot without complaint. We set a target of £1,000 but that was overtaken within four days which is fantastic. We want to raise as much as we can for him,” said Jody.

In 2014 Mick was diagnosed with skin cancer on the front of his skull. This was removed but the cancer returned in 2019 and meant Mick had to have parts of his face altered and rebuilt from muscle removed from his shoulder, leaving partial use of his mouth, ear and eye. He was also fitted with a colostomy bag for the foreseeable future. This resulted in 12 months of rest and recuperation resulting in mental and financial hardship.

“It is now 2021 and Mick has been diagnosed with a frontal lobe aneurysm and will have to undergo aggressive surgery to remove this. If all goes well Mick will have to recuperate for a minimum of 20 weeks thus causing more mental and financial hardship.

“Mick has been a friendly and supportive face on a lot of our sites, regardless of what he has or is going through. He always puts others first.

“He is a friend and colleague to those lucky enough to have met him.”

Mick, a telehandler driver who lives in Barnoldswick, went back to work as soon as he was able - even refusing to be furloughed. He said he was overwhelmed with the kindness of his colleagues.

“My sons, Dean and Lex, did come over in 2019 but without the grandchildren who I’ve not seen for three years. The youngest was only three months old when I saw him; the other grandson is five.

“I hope to have my operation at the end of October and be well enough to go out to see them all by around February.”

To make a donation go to: https://bit.ly/39fDugQ