Two years ago, Phil Evans and his wife Barbara took part in an annual charity walk in the moonlight to raise money for Sobell House hospice.

But later that year, Mrs Evans was herself diagnosed with cancer, and is now being cared for at the hospice, at the Churchill Hospital, in Headington, Oxford.

Mr Evans, 46, from Kennington, who works for a DNA profiling firm, had hoped that Barbara, 51, would be able to sit in a wheelchair and watch him and other walkers start this year’s eight-mile Moonlight Stroll around Oxford in July, but now believes she will be too ill to attend.

He said: “Barbara’s treatment finished back in November and there was an idea that if she was well enough she could sit in a wheelchair on the night, but unfortunately I don’t think that is going to happen.

"We did the walk in 2007 in memory of two friends who died of cancer and we were going to do the walk last year, but Barbara was receiving treatment at the time.

“The hospice means a huge amount to me right now as the staff have been superb in caring for Barbara, who is very ill with ovarian cancer.

“We never thought that when we did the first Moonlight Stroll in 2007 we would be using their support and services in the future.

“They are marvellous, so I would appreciate it if as many people as possible raised money for the hospice by taking part in the stroll.”

Mr Evans said his wife worked as an embriologist at Oxford IVF unit, but had now retired because of ill-health.

The couple raised £1,000 for the hospice in 2007.

He added: “One of the people we did the walk in memory of was a female colleague of Barbara’s, who died of breast cancer, while the other person was a guy we knew through our drama society, who suffered throat cancer. They were both cared for at the hospice.

“Friends from Barbara’s work have said they will be doing the walk with me this year and I am hoping for better weather than in 2007, when it poured down.

“It was so wet that they struggled to cook the bacon butties at the end of the walk.”

Kevin Game, a spokesman for Sobell House, said: “Phil is a perfect example of the work Sobell House does in the community.

“This just goes to show how important the stroll is to the work we do.”

Walkers set off from St Edward’s School, in Woodstock Road, for the walk of about eight to nine miles. Strollers need to be at least 12, but babies in buggies often go along.

For further information, see the event's website or call 01865 857007.