WHEN David Chapman started suffering with persistent heartburn and indigestion, the father-of-two reluctantly went to the GP because his daughter, Amy, insisted that he get checked out.

Unfortunately, Amy Chapman, 25, a supervisor at Chester-based Joseph Holt pub The Mill at Upton, was right to be concerned.

Referred for an ultrasound and MRI scan, the results were devastating. David, 52 an engineer in the oil industry and who lived in Ellesmere Port, was suffering with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. The disease killed him two years after the devastating diagnosis.

Now Amy and her colleagues at the Chester pub are preparing to set out on a hike up Mount Snowdon in David's memory and to raise money for the Joseph Holt 175 Years in Business Appeal. This is an initiative across the Manchester-based brewery's 127 pubs and which aims to raise half a million pounds for the Christie Hospital.

Amy also hopes to raise awareness of the disease and the need to get symptoms checked out in the hope that an early diagnosis will help beat cancer.

The team at The Mill at Upton.

The team at The Mill at Upton.

Amy said: "I was so close to my dad – he was my world – and I remember what happened to him like it was yesterday, even though he died five years ago.

"It all started in 2016 when dad started getting what he thought was indigestion. He was taking Gaviscon – a medicine which relieves heartburn – all the time but it wasn't making any difference.

"I really had to make him go and get checked out. And when he was told he'd need a scan he was quite nonchalant about it – he thought it might be kidney stones.

"So, when dad got the news we were all devastated. And though he tried to make the most of the time he had left – the doctors gave him two years – it was so awful.

"Dad continued to work, went on holidays and even bought a Harley Davidson. But he just got sicker and sicker. Then we lost him.

"At first I felt so helpless but then I realised I really needed to do something, not only to keep his memory alive but to raise money for vital research into cancer and to give people hope for a cure."

The Joseph Holt 175 Years in Business appeal has been launched to mark the milestone anniversary of the brewery which was founded in Manchester in 1849.

The money raised from the two-year appeal will go towards two important projects in the Christie's advanced oncology centre: a new reception area for patients attending for a scan and a 4D CT scanning room which will house a pioneering cutting-edge scanner to help with accurate diagnosis and treatment.

The Joseph Holt brewery has been in the same family for six generations owns and the Christie is its longest running charity partner. The connection dates back to 1914 when Sir Edward Holt, son of the brewery's eponymous founder Joseph Holt and great grandfather of current chairman Richard Kershaw, raised £20,000 to help found the Holt Radium Institute. The £20,000 is equivalent to nearly £3 million in today's money. The Holt Radium Institute amalgamated with The Christie in 1932 to form The Christie Hospital and Holt Radium Institute.

Amy, together with the Mill at Upton's general manager Mikey Craig, deputy manager Olivia Cooper and chef Luke Ramsay, will set out on August 17 and are hoping to raise as much money as possible for the appeal.

Amy added: "I am doing this in memory of my dad but also in memory of all the people who The Christie have supported throughout the years but unfortunately are not here to tell their story themselves.

"I started doing charity work and fundraising at the start of February this year and through hard work we have as a pub made just shy of £1,000 for the charity. We already have over £300 in sponsors just for this expedition and we now want to make as much money as we can to make a difference to all those people who are affected by cancer."

To donate, visit here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/amy-chapman-1689591153036