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Man who made £115K for King's Lynn hospital charity dies aged 86

Queen Elizabeth Hospital Gavin English standing in the refurbished Peace and Hope GardenQueen Elizabeth Hospital
Gavin English raised £115,000 to pay for improvements for cancer patients, including the refurbishment of a tranquil garden at Queen Elizabeth Hospital

A great-grandad who raised £115,000 for his local hospital in tribute to his late wife has died.

Gavin English, 86, held 500 car boots sales and manned 300 supermarket collections in aid of Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn, Norfolk.

He had recently started working on plans to renovate cancer care facilities - which will still go ahead in his honour, the hospital said.

It added that Mr English's efforts paid for a "huge range of improvements".

New chemotherapy room chairs, the renovation of a waiting room in the Macmillan Unit and the refurbishment of the Peace and Hope Garden were all paid for through his charity work.

Queen Elizabeth Hospital Gavin English with his daughter at Buckingham PalaceQueen Elizabeth Hospital
Mr English and his daughter Belinda were invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace to celebrate his achievements

Mr English started fundraising 10 years ago for the hospital's cancer charity after his wife, Frances, died from the disease.

He also wrote two books about their time together, with all proceeds going to the hospital.

The funeral of Mr English, who lived in Docking, will be held at the town's crematorium on 15 January.

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