The Argus’s gardening expert has been shortlisted for a charity fundraising award.

Geoff Stonebanks, a regular writer for The Argus gardening section, said he was “overwhelmed” to learn he was shortlisted for the cancer charity Macmillan’s Outstanding Supporter award.

Geoff retired in 2004, and has since volunteered with Macmillan Cancer Support to raise funds for the charity, which aims to improve the lives of those suffering with cancer.

He found out this week that he will be attending the glitzy ceremony in Birmingham on June 1 to celebrate his achievements.

Nominations were submitted in November 2022.

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Geoff raises money at his Driftwood garden in Bishopstone, near Seaford. He has raised over £100,000 for Macmillan, and an extra £60,000 for a variety of other charities through organising his Macmillan Coastal Garden Trail for the last 12 years.

Chief executive of Macmillan Lynda Thomas told Geoff: “This year marked an incredible milestone of raising £100,000 for Macmillan.

“The funds raised helped us to deliver 11,740 counselling and physiological appointments; 5,086 appointments for complementary therapies and many more opportunities."

Geoff has collected many awards and accolades in recent years, from the Don Mabey Award in 2018 by the Mayor of Seaford for his fundraising efforts to being a finalist in the BBC’s Sussex and Surrey Community Heroes Awards in 2013.