Just before Christmas, Josh Hayes from Cirencester was diagnosed with testicular cancer.

He is just 22-years-old and, only a year ago, landed his dream job working at the Organic Farm in Cirencester, where he also lives in a cottage on the farm with his partner of four years, Josie Barstow.

Josh decided to take the brave step of going public about his fight with testicular cancer to help raise awareness of this condition that can affect men aged between 15 and 49 and to stress the importance of men checking themselves regularly for any painless swelling or lump or any change in shape or texture of the testicles.

Eddie Bodsworth, who lives in Fairford, is Josie’s uncle and he has decided to help Josh raise awareness of this condition by running 100km in and around Fairford throughout February and donating any money raised to the Oddballs Foundation that helps and supports anyone suffering from testicular cancer.

Eddie said: “I wanted to do something outside my comfort zone to raise money in support of Josh and everyone else who may be impacted by this form of cancer.

"At the end of February, I want to be able to finish my runs with a half marathon!

"This is something I haven’t done for six years.

"In fact, I only started running again in October last year and found it extremely tough to run even 1km!"

Working full time as a store manager at Tesco in Stow-on-the-Wold means that Eddie is not able to run every day, but he manages to fit in a run around three times week on his days off or early morning if he is working a night shift.

He’s already managed to complete around 49km by running a mix of distances from 6km to 16km around Fairford and the villages of Quenington, Coln St Aldwyns and Hatherop.

His original target was to raise £200, but Eddie has already exceeded that by over 300 per cent with over £600 having now been raised.

Eddie said that even if he manages to complete his goal of 100km, he will still keep going especially while the donations keep coming in.

Eddie said: “The generosity from so many people in support of Josh has spurred me on to strive and stride to reach a new target of £1,000.”

Josh is currently waiting to start an extensive course of chemotherapy that will take place over the next few months.

Initially, Josh had undergone surgery that was to have been followed by a short course of preventative chemotherapy but, sadly, he was told that the cancer had spread.

Brave Josh said: “I am feeling stronger than ever and ready to smash this!

"I have such an amazing girlfriend, family and friends, who are supporting me all the way.

"I can’t reiterate enough how important it is for men to check themselves regularly to raise awareness of testicular cancer.”

To donate to support Eddie in his 100km running target, the Oddballs Foundation and Josh Hayes in his fight against testicular cancer and raise awareness, please visit the JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/eddie-bodsworth1.