A ST Dogmaels man has returned from an emotional trip to Vietnam as part of a group that helped raise more than £120,0000 for Marie Curie.

Simon Wigley, who is currently working as a pharmacist in Caerleon Pharmacy in Cardigan, personally raised £3,500 following the week-long trek to the Far East.

"The trek itself was challenging covering about 120 km through the Northern Hills of Vietnam , a very remote part of the country - though somehow we still managed to see the Wales v South Africa semi-final game,” said Simon.

“There were 28 people were in the party and together we raised over £120,000 - in real terms about 4,000 hours of nursing care for those with terminal illness.

“The party was a mixture of people who wanted to ‘pay-back’ to Marie Curie for their service and some nurses who had taken holiday time to raise funds for the organisation .

“It was quite emotional at times, especially in the evenings when we took it in turns to say why we were here and why we wanted to raise money for Marie Curie.

“I did it to thank Marie Curie for their care for my mum and dad , Max and Jean Wigley .”

“We lost my mum Jean to cancer after 17 years of living with breast cancer. She needed full time care towards the end and along with NHS care also had Marie Curie nurses in attendance.

“We lost my dad Max of basically a broken heart, and I was surprised when I found out that Marie Curie nurses were able to help us towards the end as I have always associated their work with palliative cancer care.

“I had looked after dad for two years but really needed help towards the end - which was provided partly by NHS crisis team, but for us it was the assistance from Marie Curie that really helped dad and us.

“I would like to thank all those who donated and sponsored me for this experience.”