Toddlers in Trowbridge will be putting their best foot forward to raise money for a hospital’s cancer ward as part of a fundraiser organised by a nursery manager who was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor.

Playtime Pre-School, which has 34 children on the books and meets at the Bethesda Church in Gloucester Road, is run by Emma McCulloch, who two years ago was found to have a cancerous germ cell tumour during a routine operation to remove a cyst from her ovaries.

Mother-of-two Mrs McCulloch, 32, of Park Street, is now in remission after undergoing months of chemotherapy, but still needs check-ups every three months.

She has decided to organise the toddle waddle to raise money for the hospital ward which treated her.

She said: “We are organising this sponsored walk to support the William Budd cancer ward at the Royal United Hospital, mainly because some of the children’s grandparents and parents have been treated there. They have helped a lot of our families.

“I had intensive treatment there for three months about two years ago when I was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called germ cell cancer.”

During the operation to remove the cyst, doctors found a cancerous lump.

“It’s a big, big thing for me, raising money for this cancer ward as they helped me and others so much,” Mrs McCulloch said.

A grandmother, whose grandson and granddaughter attend the pre-school, was also treated at the RUH after she was diagnosed with a low grade cancer, after doctors found a lump on her neck.

Rosemary Hartley, 63, of Lamplighters Walk, Trowbridge, said: “I would like to sponsor a child because staff at the hospital were so good to me.

“The experience was absolutely fantastic if you can say such a thing. My surgeon and the staff were fantastic.”

The minister of Bethesda Church, Rees James, will also be sponsoring the event after he was treated at the RUH after being diagnosed with bladder cancer last year.

He said: “The treatment I had was fantastic, second to none. I had the surgery in Bristol in February and the chemotherapy in May. I am now clear of cancer.”

The toddle waddle will take place on June 27, from the Lock Inn Café in Bradford on Avon to the Cross Guns pub at Avoncliff.

To sponsor the children, call 07722129064.