Postman Dan dons his shorts for charity

Dan McAlinden will be wearing his summer clothes while doing his busy rounds to help raise money for Clic Sargent, after hearing his colleague’s 10-year-old son had been suffering from a cancerous tumour.

Weather permitting, he hopes to still be wearing his summer wear until February and the money raised will go towards the charity’s Home for Home appeal.

It is not the first time Dan wore his shorts in the winter. Dan helped raise £700 on behalf of his own son Connor who is now 20 and who suffers from a condition from – Myasthenia Gravis (MG). Connor lives a relatively normal life and is now studying at university. MG affects one in 10,000 people in the UK.

Dan has had some strange looks from people around the village during his rounds but he says that it was worth it if it made people think about cancer.

“I would get some people looking at me and a few laughs but when they hear about why I am doing it they apologise,” he said. “I’m going to brave it out until February. It might be a little discomfort for me but that is nothing compared to what children with cancer are going through.

“They say as long as your hands and head are warm - you are warm.”

Every week two children in Northern Ireland are told they have cancer. The funds raised by Dan will go towards CLIC Sargent’s Home from Home Appeal. Phase one of the appeal will see Northern Ireland’s first ever ‘Home from Home’ expected to open near the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. Survival rates are over 80%, and cancer remains the largest cause of death from disease in children in the UK. To donate go to Justgiving.com\Dan-McAlinden