A bowel cancer fundraiser who carried the Olympic torch through Croydon is launching an eBay auction of prizes donated by celebrities including Pippa Middleton and Anna Wintour.
Dafydd Jones, who has worked to raise money for Beating Bowel Cancer since being diagnosed with the disease in 2009, will on Sunday kick off his latest fundraising auction.
The auction is being held in memory of Dafydd's friend Alison Selfe, who recently lost her battle with bowel cancer. It also marks April's Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, and celebrates Dafydd's 10-year fundraising anniversary.
Prizes include Anna Wintour accessories, Nickelodeon merchandise, a signed poster from the cast of EastEnders, Ormonde Jayne perfume and a book signed by Pippa Middleton.
This is the 19th auction Dafydd, 30, from Crystal Palace, has organised. His previous auctions have raised more than £10,000 for Beating Bowel Cancer.
Bullied at school Dafydd, who had curvature of the spine, began campaigning about anti-bullying. He was invited to speak about the issue on Radio 1 and met the Queen in 2004, where he handed her an anti-bullying wristband.
Diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2009, Dafydd directed his campaigning efforts at helping those with the illness and raising awareness of the symptoms.
His fundraising efforts have seen him tackle a 300ft bungee jump, walk up Snowdon and organise a fashion show. He was last year invited to the knighthood of Tessa Jowell, where he met former Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Dafydd's tireless work also saw him chosen as an Olympic torchbearer last summer. He carried the flame through Croydon on July 23.
But for Dafydd, friends loved and lost are always at the forefront of his mind. He has helped raise more than £4,000 for the bowel cancer charity in memory of his late friend Alison Selfe.
"By being on this bowel cancer journey, for me it makes it even more worthwhile," he said.
"We can help each other through difficult situations, we go through the tragedy.
"The high has been carrying the torch. To be able to carry the flame and be able to represent other people was amazing.
"You can go through stages of bad things happening but if you can turn them around to help others it mends you too."
And Dafydd urged people to be vigilant about bowel cancer symptoms.
Bowel cancer is the UK's second-biggest cancer killer, claiming a life every 30 minutes. More than 41,000 people are diagnosed with the disease every year in the UK; the majority being over the age of 50.
Early diagnosis is crucial – more than 93 per cent of people diagnosed with bowel cancer at an early stage survive for at least five years compared with less than seven per cent of those diagnosed at a late stage.
Symptoms include blood in your stools or bleeding from your rectum; a change to your normal bowel habits which persists for more than three weeks, such as diarrhoea, constipation or passing stools more frequently than usual; and abdominal pain.
Other symptoms include unexplained weight loss; fatigue; a feeling of bloating, usually around the belly button; and vomiting.
"Don't sit on your symptoms," said Dafydd. "People shouldn't be afraid to talk to their GP". Dafydd's auction kicks off on Sunday at 9am and will run until the end of the month.
For further information visit www.wannadosomething.co.uk.
