AN ABERYSTWYTH man who battled and beat prostate cancer just a few short months ago has used his wedding day to raise thousands of pounds for charity.

Russell Hughes-Pickering was diagnosed with prostate cancer last December and underwent surgery in February.Just four months after his cancer scare he married his now-wife, Barbara, in the first ever wedding on Aberystwyth seafront’s pier on Friday, 10 June.Russell, who works for Ceredigion County Council as head of performance and improvement, asked for donations for Prostate Cymru on the couple’s big day, with friends, family and guests raising nearly £2,500.The 48-year-old had surgery to remove his prostate performed robotically in Cardiff – the only such machine in Wales.He said he hopes to raise money so that more people in Wales can have access to the life-saving surgery which allowed him to get married and be “relatively pain-free” and “up and about and back to normal in a few weeks”.“Unfortunately there is only one robot in Wales compared to around 40 in England and there is limited funding available to train consultants to use the robot,” Russell said.See this week's Aberystwyth edition for the full story, in shops and online now