WHEN Stan Jackson celebrated his 80th birthday, it wasn’t presents he wanted - but donations to charity.

And the Great Sankey man selected two closest to his heart - Warrington Disability Partnership (WDP) and Cancer Research.

Around 200 guests marked his birthday in December at Eagle Sports Social Club - raising £900.

“Two of my mates had cancer – thankfully they’re both in remission now and doing well – and I’ve been attending IT classes at WDP’s Marjorie Griffiths Learning Centre for the past three years so that’s why I chose those two charities to donate the money to,” explains Stan, who used to work at Crosfields and served in the Army for three years.

“I thought it would be a good idea to ask people who came to my party to donate to my chosen charities rather than buy me presents because when you get to my age there’s not an awful lot you need so I wanted to give something back to two charities that mean a lot to me,” he said.

Stan’s fundraising endeavours do not begin and end with his generous display at his landmark birthday celebration.

He also sells poppies every year during October and November in support of Penketh British Legion and is a member of a Masonic lodge which makes charitable donations throughout the year.

Stan first saw WDP via an advertisement in the Warrington Guardian.

“The advert was aimed at people who were interested in IT, but were newcomers when it came to using a computer,” says Stan. “I entered the classes with a basic knowledge of IT, but the classes have been champion.

‘In the three years I have been taking classes I’m pretty proficient on a PC now. I believe the reason I have made so much progress is because of the way the classes are structured. We have fun, but at the same time we learn so much.”

Widowed Stan has two sons, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Dave Thompson, WDP’s chairman and founder said: “We would like to say a huge thank you to Stan for his incredibly generous donation to us over the festive season, which will be used to refurbish IT kit in The Marjorie Griffiths Learning Centre.

“The way in which he went about raising the money both for WDP and Cancer Research was a genuine and touching act of kindness. All of us here at WDP are sincerely grateful to Stan for his continued support of our charity.”