Cancer patient Andy Crabb said he was overwhelmed by the support of 124 golfers who raised £6,700 to pay for a life-extending drug for three months.

The father-of-three, 49, has renal cancer and is one of 24 patients in the county who have been denied the life-extending drug sunitinib.

Mr Crabb, a builder, and his wife Dianne, 57, have been forced to pay £3,300 every six weeks for the treatment.

Mr Crabb has responded well to treatment but fears he will have to sell his house in Crosslands Drive to keep paying for the drug.

The couple have already cashed in their pensions and friends organised a charity golf match at Hinksey Heights golf course, near Oxford, last Friday to raise more funds. The golf day exceeded expectations, and organiser Paul Evans said: "The weather was kind, so we had 31 teams of four and it was a fantastic day's golf.

"Andy rode round in a golf buggy encouraging everyone throughout the day and I think he had a good time too. "Andy is very humble about all this fundraising on his behalf — I don't think he knows what to make of it, but I think he was pleasantly surprised by how many people turned up on the day."

Mr Crabb said: "I'm very grateful to all the golfers who turned up, and this means that I won't have to pay for a couple of courses of treatment.

"I would also like to thank regulars at the Cross Keys pub and the Fitzharris Arms for their support, and Abingdon United Football Club, which has also been very supportive.

"The landlord of the Cross Keys auctioned off some sports memorabilia and held a barbecue and Aunt Sally day to raise £1,400. "I have appealed against Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust's decision not to prescribe the drug and I expect the hearing to take place next month.

"The tablets are working and my scan results have been brilliant." Mr Evans has also asked friends of Mr Crabb to agree to make regular payments so that his family do not have to worry about finding thousands of pounds every six weeks.

Mr Evans said: "I am trying to get 200 people to pay £10 a month into a bank account."

In July, hundreds of people turned up at Abingdon United's Northcourt Road ground for a fundraising event and raised more than £800.

In August, victims of the postcode lottery in Oxfordshire travelled to the London headquarters of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to lobby for sunitinib to be made freely available on the NHS.