A TREE surgeon came an impressive 10th place in a 230km jungle race halfway around the world.

Tim Gardner, from Wareham, completed the gruelling Beyond the Ultimate 230km Jungle Ultra in the Manu National Park in South America to raise funds for ovarian cancer support group GO Girls.

Tim lost his mum Helen to the disease less than a year ago, and has pledged to support the group ever since.

Their current fundraising project is to raise £25,000 for a counselling suite as part of the Dorset County Hospital Cancer Appeal.

It’s not Tim’s first challenge, as he took on the Marathon Des Sables earlier this year.

He said: “I felt quite at home in the jungle – after all I’m used to trees – it’s my day job. Of course, it was a little hotter, more humid, and muddier, but an incredible experience. I feel so proud to be raising more funds for the GO Girls in memory of mum.”

Hilary Maxwell, chairman of the GO Girls, said: “Helen would be so proud of Tim. She was an ardent supporter of our work and what Tim has achieved this year is quite simply amazing.”

As well as raising money for the Cancer Appeal and supporting women undergoing treatment, Go Girls aims to raise awareness of the symptoms of ovarian cancer. The condition is often symptomless in the early stages and survival rates are low.

Hilary added: “We know that statistics tell us that the later the diagnosis, the lower survival for women with ovarian cancer. Most women are diagnosed at stage three, where survival falls dramatically to 20 per cent for five year survival. Whilst, overall survival is improving, we still lag behind our European neighbours, and there is a long way to go to get the improved survival rates seen in other cancers, such as breast cancer, where it is so encouraging to see such change.

“This is why this year we launched our Know the ABDO Code – a simple code to help women recognise four of the key symptoms of ovarian cancer – we know earlier diagnosis will help improve survival – we would encourage all women to check out our website and to be familiar with Know the ABDO Code.”

Visit www.gogirlssupport.org