A LEUKAEMIA sufferer at the centre of a worldwide search to find him a life-saving donor has raised £10,000 to help fight the disease.

Michael Baines was devastated by the bombshell diagnosis three years ago but decided he wasn't going to let it ruin his life.

Michael, 41, of Abbey Village, set about raising money for the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust, which operates a database of bone marrow donors, and The Christie Hospital, Manchester.

Two worldwide searches have been carried out to find a matching donor, but Michael is still waiting, and hoping, for a suitable donor to be found.

Michael, who worked as a policeman in Great Harwood and Accrington until 1990, said: "I haven't got any brothers or sisters so I have to rely on an unrelated donor, who hasn't been found yet.

"It was an absolute bombshell when I was told I had leukaemia and my world fell apart.

"But almost from the start I decided I wasn't going to let it beat me and, for as long as I can, I am going to raise as much money as possible to help charities which fight leukaemia.

"Until a donor is found for me there is nothing I can do about my illness, but there is a lot I can do to help the charities which help me." Michael's fund-raising campaign hit the £10,000 mark when workers from Express Gifts in Church, where Michael worked as a security guard until the illness took hold, handed over a cheque last week.

He said: "Everyone I know has been excellent in terms of supporting me and even after I have left Express Gifts they are still raising money for me.

"I don't work anymore because of the illness but I am so busy with fund-raising now I don't know if I would have the time anyway!"

Michael's 18-year-old son, Andrew, has also been instrumental in the money-collecting, selling soft toys, taking part in sponsored walks and even shaving his hair for charity when he heard his dad was to undergo intensive chemotherapy.

Their next event is being held on Saturday, June 29, when they will join gliders in the air over Samlesbury as part of a tour around Britain.

Michael added: "I am just not one of those people who could sit back and accept the fact I was ill and then not do anything."