A MEMORIAL fund set up after a 19-year-old died from cancer has almost reached £80,000 just 10 years after his death.

Dean Thompson, who lived in Horwich, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma,bone cancer, in April 2007.

He received treatment at the young oncology unit at the Christie Hospital but died on May 12 2008.

The Dean Thompson Memorial Fund was set up following his death in an effort to raise money for The Christie.

And now a decade later, the total has reached £78,000 and the family are holding a memorial walk for the teenager today.

Dean's mother Diane Thompson, aged 51, said: "We are so happy that we have raised the money because we wanted to give something back to the people that treated Dean.

"It has hit me really badly because it has been 10 years since Dean passed away.

To mark the anniversary and to try and raise further funds for The Christie, the family is holding a memorial walk today.

About 120 people will be taking part in the event that will begin at the Cowshed in Horwich before heading to Rivington, Adlington and finishing back in Horwich.

The walkers will be in groups and will pay visits to pubs and cafes along the way.

Mrs Thompson, who lives in Wenlock Close, said the idea was to visit the areas where Dean grew up in.

It is the latest in a number of fundraising events the family has held or taken part in for The Christie.

This includes the Morecambe Bay walk in 2015, a parachute jump and half marathons.

The target set on the fund's Just Giving page stands at £100,000 but Mrs Thompson said they would not be stopping.

She said: "We will be carrying on even after we reach £100,000. We will just have to think of what else we can do."

Dean was born in 1989 and lived in Adlington for the first five years of his life.

He went to Adlington Pre-School and Anderton Day Nursery before starting at Anderton Primary School.

The family moved to Horwich and when he turned 11, Dean began at Rivington and Blackrod High School.

He left school at 16 and became an apprentice electrician for Eurotec in Warrington.

One of his main passions was football and he was manager of a five-a-side team at Bolton Arena and supported Bolton Wanderers.

After he was diagnosed in 2007, the family said he fought "long and hard" throughout treatment, which included chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

A description on the Just Giving page says he was "never once complaining — even when so much chemo caused his kidneys to fail, resulting in having dialysis in Hope Hospital for the last four months of his life.

Dean left behind his mother, his father Gary and his sister Becky.

Donations to the Dean Thompson Memorial Fund can be made by going to justgiving.com/deanthompsonmemorialfund

For more information on how to get involved, go to the Dean Thompson Tribute Fund Facebook page or to the website at deansfund.co.uk