WAITROSE has come to the rescue of Stephen Roose-Jones' Sit Down On It campaign.

The supermarket chain has agreed to give 8,000 apples to the York-based head of fundraising for Bowel Cancer UK.

It brings to an end the anxiety felt by Stephen, who failed to find any fruit suppliers who would back his plan to promote healthy eating with a giveaway apple.

On each apple will be a sticker with instructions on how the eater can help promote Stephen's national Sit Down On It appeal week, which starts on Friday, April 7 - a bid to raise £2 million for the charity by making people more aware of their bottoms.

The apple label gives a mobile phone text number to automatically pledge £1.50 to the cause and at the same time earn a chance to win a possible Sit Down On It prize.

Stephen said: "Nobody, it seems, wanted to give me any apples. I had no reply to my requests from Asda, Sainsbury's and the Co-op. Even the man from Del Monte couldn't say yes!

"It was a terrible snub, particularly since both York-based GNER and Network Rail gave me free sites at railway stations from Kings Cross to Newcastle to give away the fruit, so I am hugely grateful to Waitrose whose commitment was instant."

The 8,000 apples will be arriving at Waitrose, in Harrogate, and Geoff Hill, of Fast Lane Displays, in Kathryn Avenue, Huntington, York, has volunteered to deliver them to York and Newcastle railway stations, and to Monks Cross Shopping Park, York, for general distribution.

Andy Gibbon, manager of Waitrose in Harrogate, said: "We are delighted to be involved with such a worthwhile campaign and support an initiative like this that encourages people to take an active interest in what they eat and their lifestyle."

Meanwhile, Stephen has amassed 35 prizes, ranging from sitting down for team training with Steve McClaren, York-born manager of Middlesbrough Football Club, to visiting RAF Brize Norton for a tour followed by a tandem skydive.

Or how about sitting on the late lamented Seth Armstrong's bar stool in Emmerdale? Or being a sitting extra in the TV spy thriller Spooks?

"The common denominator is that the winners sit down somewhere special - reminding us that we should think about our bottoms as a matter of life and death," said Stephen, who himself suffered from bowel cancer.

Now Stephen is looking for volunteers to hand out the apples on Friday, April 7, from 8am until 2pm, and at Monks Cross Shopping Park, all day on Saturday, April 8.

Volunteers should phone him on 07917 246842.

Updated: 09:22 Monday, March 27, 2006