A PROMISE to take his wife on the honeymoon they never had has been made by a Wiltshire man who married 23 years ago but is now slowly dying from cancer.

Darren Potter has been told he has Stage 4 lung cancer which has spread to other parts of his body.

He has launched a gofundme appeal to raise £5,000 to take his wife Emily and their five children on holiday before it’s too late to do so.

Darren, 46, said: “With my time running out I would like to try and keep a promise to my wife and renew our wedding vows.

“I said our 25th anniversary but I don’t know if I will be here then and this year is 23 years so close enough.

“We were young when we tied the knot and didn’t have a honeymoon, mainly because Emily was heavily pregnant with our eldest.

“The wedding costs took all of our funds so to be able to keep my promise to my wife and have a little holiday with all our children would mean the world to me.”

Mr Potter, of Jacob Way, Warminster, has five children: Chloe, 22, Adam, 20, Dylan, 17, Katie-May, 15, and Thomas, 12.

He is now on sick leave from his job as a public health officer with Landmarc Support Services at Westdown Camp in Tilshead.

He said: “My wife Emily is a fantastic mother and has had a lot to deal with bringing up our children who, all bar one, have health issues, three with autism and one with chronic fatigue.

“This has meant that our family life has been very different to most families but we wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Last year I didn’t feel too good so I called the doctor who sent me for some chest x-rays. The next day I had a call from the doctor and he said they found something in my lung that didn’t look good and sent me back to hospital for a CT scan.”

A week later Mr Potter was called back in to see a consultant and given the dreaded diagnosis that he had Stage 4 lung cancer. Even worse, it had already spread to his aortic lymph node.

“I got in my car and rang my wife. I couldn’t hold back the tears as I said to her it’s not good news babe, I have cancer.

“That drive was the longest drive of my life. When I got home I pulled into the drive and walked into the kitchen where I was met by my wife who just hugged me and I cried, so did she.

“I called all the children to come in the front room. They knew I had been to hospital that day but it still wasn’t easy telling them all I had cancer and wasn’t going to live my life out and see them grow up and get married or have grandchildren and so much more I would miss out on in life.”

Mr Potter added: “I am taking part in a clinical drug trial. Hopefully this will buy me the time but it will also help others in the future as, with all illnesses, they need guinea pigs to develop treatment.

“I’m trying to do something positive, even at the end of my time.”

Mr Potter’s appeal has already raised £629 towards his target. To donate go to www.uk.gofundme.com/f/darrens-memories-and-wishes