Widower organises Halloween Scare Fest in Woodford Green to raise money for bowel cancer

Jonathan Wing, of Wood Lane in Woodford Green, will host the street party with the help of his five children and will donate the proceeds to the Whipps Cross Bowel Cancer Care Appeal.

The 47-year-old said he decided to fundraise for a bowel cancer charity after his father Tony died of the disease and also because the mayor of Waltham Forest overcame the cancer.

He said: “I chose the bowel cancer charity for this year’s event because my dad died from bowel cancer but also because my friend knows the mayor of Waltham Forest Peter Herrington.

“Peter’s story is very inspirational. He beat bowel cancer and went on to become the mayor and he will be making an appearance at the scare fest.

“Peter is living proof that you can get through it and he is remarkable.”

Mr Wing’s late wife June Anne was a patient at Whipps Cross Hospital for four years before she died of ovarian cancer in aged 42 in June 2013, just three months after his father had passed away.

Fourteen years ago, Mr Wing’s mother Heather lost her battle to pancreatic cancer aged 57.

Mr Wing, who worked as a painter before becoming a full-time house husband after his wife died, said he took the death of his wife particularly bad.

He has since joined a support group for cancer sufferers and their loved ones, where he encourages people to keep going.

He said: “I was in a bad way after my wife’s death.

“I went down-hill very fast and it took me two years to get out of the dark.

“People said to me you have your children and you can see your wife in them and I can.

“I want to tell people in the same situation that it is not over and don’t give up.

“I am now in a better place and I have met another woman.”

The scare fest will feature food stalls, bouncy castles and a trail through the woods with skeletons, coffins and a hearse.

The event will run from 7pm to midnight on Monday, October 31 on Wood Lane, Woodford Green, IG8 9TE.