Staff at Durham Constabulary have helped to raise more than £1,000 for a cancer charity in memory of their colleague, PC Gavin Smith.

Gav, who appeared in the Channel 5 TV series Police Interceptors, tragically lost his battle with cancer earlier this year.

To show their support, 110 staff ran or walked a mile around headquarters earlier this year as part of the annual Mile with a Smile event to raise funds for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.

Working together with County Durham Community Foundation, they raised a total of £1,260, which was officially handed over to the charity this week.

Gav’s wife, Kezi, said: “The experience that both Gav and I had of the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation was hugely positive.

“I hope this donation will go some way in helping them to continue their amazing work in developing new and effective ways of detecting and treating cancer, and hopefully give hope to other families in the future.”

County Durham Community Foundation Chief Executive, Barbara Gubbins, said: “We are delighted to be working with Durham Constabulary managing their community fund and it’s brilliant to see what their staff have raised for such a worthy cause.”

The Sir Bobby Robson launched his Foundation in 2008 and it has gone on to raise more than £11 million to find more effective ways to detect and treat cancer.

The work funded directly benefits cancer patients in the North East and Cumbria and plays a significant role in the international fight against the disease.

Working within the NHS, the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation does not employ professional fundraisers to proactively raise money and relies completely on third party, volunteer fundraisers and the incredible generosity of the general public.

Liz Luff, from the Foundation, said: “It was a great pleasure to meet Gav’s family and colleagues at Durham Police HQ.

“This fundraising has obviously been very personal to them and we greatly appreciate everyone’s efforts.”