Tumour man has charity rail sale

Mr Gardner has remained upbeat despite his prognosis

A railway enthusiast with a terminal brain tumour has auctioned a lifetime's collection of memorabilia for charity.

Colin Gardner MBE said his wife had no interest in trains and did not want the treasured items when he was gone.

The 67-year-old stepped down as chairman of Gloucestershire's Forest Green Rovers FC in June after being told his tumour was inoperable.

At the Crown Inn, in Minchinhampton, on Wednesday he raised more than �2,000 for the cancer charity CLIC Sargent.

Help others

Mr Gardner, whose interest in trains grew from when his father worked in the railways, had amassed dozens of pictures, paintings and souvenirs.

He has remained upbeat since he was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour and said he felt he could use his prized collection to help others.

"When you get to the stage of dying, I like to think you look at it and think, I can't do anything about it, so why don't we do something that'll bring a lot of good," he said.

"And if you can't do anything about it, what have you got the worry about?"

Mr Gardner, who has raised about �1m for good causes in the past, was awarded an MBE for services to charity in 2006.

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