Buildings to be lit up in purple for cancer

Bradford City Hall Clocktower will be illuminated in purple on 21 November

A number of landmarks across Yorkshire will be illuminated in purple to help raise awareness of pancreatic cancer.

Wainhouse Tower, in Halifax, and York's city walls will be lit up later for the rest of the week, while Bradford City Hall's clocktower will glow purple on Friday.

Elsewhere, Doncaster's Mansion House and Sheffield's Meadowhall Shopping Centre will also be illuminated on Thursday.

Purple Lights for pancreatic cancer is an annual campaign which takes place during November's Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.

Lighting homes and buildings is usually organised by individuals as a way of raising awareness and remembering people who have died from the disease.

Oli Burbage-Hall organised for the landmarks in York, Halifax and Bradford to light up in support of a colleague currently undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer and in memory of another colleague who died at the start of 2024.

The charity manager, from Halifax, said he had come across the campaign when looking into fundraising for Pancreatic Cancer UK.

"There is a real sense of helplessness when a dreadful disease like this takes hold of someone you care about," he said.

Halifax's Wainhouse Tower and York's walls will also be lit during the week

Mr Burbage-Hall said by getting involved in the campaign he felt he was able to do "something meaningful to put a spotlight on a disease that many people still know so very little about".

"It made sense to approach my local council in Calderdale but I also decided to approach every council in Yorkshire and have been delighted with the response as it means a lot to my colleague."

Nearly 10,500 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the UK each year and less than 7% of those diagnosed will survive beyond five years.

The disease currently receives just 3% of UK cancer research funding, despite being the UK's fifth biggest cancer killer.

Purple Lights for pancreatic cancer is supported by UK based charities Pancreatic Cancer UK, Pancreatic Cancer Action and Planets.

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