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Blackwood councillor Kevin Etheridge has won an award for his campaigning to raise awareness of bowel cancer.

In 2019, Cllr Etheridge was diagnosed with bowel cancer at the age of 60. Since then, he has endeavoured to raise awareness of the disease.

Thankfully he was diagnosed early and the tumour, which was the size of a tennis ball, was removed from his bowel through surgery.

He said he initially ignored the screening test kit that he was sent and did not appreciate the importance of it at the time. He then went to his GP after feeling unwell and was later diagnosed by a cancer specialist.

Only 55% of people in Wales take up the offer of these tests, which are offered by the NHS and provided by Bowel Screening Wales.

Following his experience, Cllr Etheridge, who is the leader of the council’s Independent group, has been a strong advocate for screening tests.

Cllr Etheridge won the Hidden Hero Award from Room to Reward, a charity which offers hotel breaks to thank volunteers.

He described the award win as a “great honour” and a “complete shock” and said: “This award is for everyone who have fought, and continues to battle this disease. It’s been a real pleasure giving these voluntary awareness talks and raising the profile of awareness at every opportunity.”

It is not the fist award Cllr Etheridge has won for his campaigning. Last December, he was named Community Champion of the Year at the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) and Churches, Charities and Local Authorities (CCLA) 2021 Councillor Awards.

Earlier this month, he was nominated for the Achievement Award for Public Awareness and Engagement, at the Moondance Cancer Awards 2022.