A young man from Helston will be holding a fun fitness challenge at the town's Tesco store on Thursday to raise money and awareness for Pancreatic Cancer Action, in memory of his mother who died from the disease.

Josh Pett, aged 23, will be at the supermarket from noon until 4pm and is hoping to persuade people to join him to collectively complete 10,000 repetitions in any exercise they like. He is undertaking the challenge as a tribute to his mum, Heather, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in April 2011 and sadly passed away on January 24, 2012, at the age of just 54.

Josh said: “When my mum was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer I didn’t know anything about it. I was shocked when I did some research and realised how many people suffer from the disease and how little awareness there is of it.

“No one expects to be effected by pancreatic cancer and you feel helpless. I am now determined to raise as much awareness as I can.”

The fundraising event is a repetition challenge in which participants can do any exercise they like, in any combination and can take as many breaks as they wish. Any repetition will count towards the 10,000 repetition target. There will be a large number of people taking part including local residents and members of Josh’s business JP Fitness Cornwall. Anyone is welcome to attend and join in.

Ali Stunt, founder of Pancreatic Cancer Action, said: “We are delighted that Josh is giving his time to support Pancreatic Cancer Action. As a charity, we rely on the generosity of individuals like Josh to help us continue our vital work. Please back Josh and the team in their fundraising efforts so that we can continue research into early diagnosis and raise awareness of pancreatic cancer.”

To sponsor Josh and the team visit https://www.justgiving.com/JPFIT1/.