BUSINESSES that attended Visit York’s annual tourism awards have raised £2,350 for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Chief executive of regional tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire, Gary Verity, presented the cheque to the charity at the National Railway Museum.

Mr Verity, whose wife Helen lost her fight against cancer in December, set up the Running For Helen campaign when he ran the New York Marathon last year with friends and the campaign has therefore been chosen as Visit York’s chosen charity.

All the funds will be spent on Marie Curie Cancer Care nurses who helped Helen and her family in the final days of her life.

Mr Verity said: “The work undertaken by Marie Curie Cancer Care nurses is phenomenal and I am absolutely delighted the Visit York Tourism Awards has raised such an impressive sum which will help to fund this very important charity. I would like to thank the 400 businesses that attended the awards at the National Railway Museum for their generous donations.”