North Tyneside couple named MBE's for charity work
A couple who raised more than £2 million for research into a rare children's cancer in memory of their son said it was "overwhelming" to be recognised in the King's Birthday Honours.
Lynn Lucas, and her husband who is also called Lynn, from North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, have each been made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to charitable fundraising.
The couple, aged 65 and 67, founded the Chris Lucas Memorial Trust (CLT) in memory of their son Christopher who died aged 18 in 2000 after being diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma - a rare form of cancer that affects children and young people.
The trust's fundraising efforts have included events such as the Great North Bike Ride in 2016 which involved more than 2,000 participants and raised £85,000 and the annual Jingle Bell Walk in Newcastle which raises up to £40,000 each year.
As a result of the pair's work, CLT has become the largest organisation in Europe exclusively funding research on rhabdomyosarcoma with the charity currently sponsoring two senior researchers at the Institute for Cancer Research in Surrey which is looking to develop new drugs for children who do not respond well to current treatments.
In a joint statement, Mr and Mrs Lucas said: "To be recognised by the King's Birthday Honours is, at the moment, overwhelming - all we want is to make a difference to find better treatments.
"We were a normal working family until our lives were changed forever after our first born Christopher's diagnosis of a rare cancer which took him from us.
"Rhabdomyosarcoma is hard to say, can be so hard to diagnose and harder to treat - there is no cure."
They continued: "This recognition means the world to us and all our close family and friends who still support what we do.
"Parents should never outlive their children."