A wife will be joining three friends on a 100km trek around the Isle of Wight in memory of “the most amazing husband” who lost his battle with cancer.

Dan King, who taught at Cromwell Community College in Chatteris during his 15-year teaching career, died of melanoma skin cancer in January after being diagnosed in April 2017.

His wife, Sinead, has since decided to take on the two-day challenge this spring for The Christie, which provides services for more than 44,000 cancer patients each year, including melanoma.

“It’s like an ultra-marathon over 100km between May 1-2. I ran a marathon three years ago after Dan got ill, which I ran in the Lake District two weeks before an ultra-challenge,” she said.

“Dan knew we were going to do the challenge and I said to him two weeks before he died that we need to choose a charity.”

After tests showed Dan had melanoma, he tried immunotherapy treatment after the cancer spread to other parts of his body.

In December 2019, he then trialled for new treatment but seven months later, was refused more trials due to his declining health.

While teaching in Chatteris, Dan made a positive impact on both staff and students, none more so than Molly Savage, whose video of his former tutor group wishing him well before Christmas last year was played at his funeral.

“Mr King was not only our amazing form tutor and English teacher; he was our friend to and to some a father figure in their life that they didn’t have at home,” Molly said.

“I felt so honoured and privileged that our video of support was played at his funeral.

“He once told us that somewhere in our mind, he will always exist and yes, he is right, because we will never forget him.”

Over £7,000 has been raised for the trek so far, with message of support still flooding in, something Sinead feels has helped her through difficult times.

“The last few weeks have been awful, but reading everyone’s messages has been comforting,” she said.

“He didn’t want to just do nothing; he wanted to look like he was trying.

“He was an inspiration to so many people and I feel really proud of the impact he has had on them.”

To donate, go to: https://bit.ly/37nmHHY and to watch the video, visit: https://bit.ly/2Nv7a1I.