Health workers are joining forces with West Yorkshire Police to raise awareness of prostate cancer following the tragic death of former chief constable Colin Cramphorn.

Mr Cramphorn was aged just 50 when he died from the disease in November last year.

Now police chiefs in Bradford and Airedale are backing Prostate Cancer Awareness Week which starts on Monday in a bid to encourage their male workforce to be more proactive about their health.

The Health of Men (HOM) team, which is part of Bradford and Airedale Teaching Primary Care Trust (tPCT), will be giving out leaflets at Keighley Police Station on Monday and placing them in reception areas so that employees can learn more about prostate cancer - the most common cancer in UK men.

Around 32,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year and every hour at least one man dies from this disease.

Despite these statistics thousands of men over 45 do not know they have a prostate gland, what it does or how it can go wrong.

Merv Pemberton, men's health adviser for Bradford and Airedale tPCT said: "Public awareness of prostate cancer is still very low - 90 per cent of adults do not know what the prostate gland does.

"We hope that this campaign will help this large workforce and men throughout Bradford and Airedale to understand more about this disease and that will prompt them, if necessary, to get any medical problems checked out straight away - as this is the best way to ensure successful treatment."

Superintendent Gary Baker, of Keighley Division, said: "We are delighted to be able to offer our support to this very important campaign.

"Not only will it help to raise awareness of prostate cancer among police officers and staff here, but also among the wider community."

Other events planned for Prostate Cancer Awareness Week include a presentation by the Health of Men team at the Federation of the Afro Caribbean Elders centre, Park Road, Little Horton Lane on Tuesday between 10.30am to noon, a talk at the Sangat Centre in Keighley on Thursday at 10.30am, a pub quiz at the Brown Cow in West Lane, Keighley on Thursday at 8.30pm and a Health of Men session at Holycroft Surgery in Keighley on Friday from 1pm to 3pm.

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