TODAY people throughout East Lancashire will be relaxing in the best way that Bank Holiday weather will allow.

For many that will mean indulging themselves and doing nothing more strenuous than switching TV channels and lifting a pint glass.

But that's not Colin Cooper's way.

During and after a working life spent at GEC, Clayton-le-Moors, his philosophy has been to keep himself active and help others at the same time.

And that regime and outlook is probably the reason why he is able to look forward to spending his 70th birthday later this year pounding the streets of Manhattan in the 26 miles of the New York Marathon.

At the same time he will be raising money for children with learning and other difficulties at Blackburn's Newfield School and Derian House Hospice.

The NHS is under enormous pressure because of the huge demands placed upon it by an increasingly sick society which is becoming ever more unhealthy due to a diet of junk food and precious little exercise.

As a burgeoning charity sector struggles to cope with complex problems and we worry that our children will not be well enough to live to collect their pensions we look to politicians to solve our problems.

If more followed Colin's example, we wouldn't need to.