A dad who hit his head in a gardening accident and lost his peripheral vision was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour.

Simon Camsell had been suffering with headaches so painful they kept him up at night.

He was in his garden in Bishop's Waltham when he hit himself with a garden tool, causing the loss of sight and a terrible headache.

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Simon’s wife, Jane and sons Charlie, 27, and Tom, 25Simon’s wife, Jane and sons Charlie, 27, and Tom, 25 (Image: Brain Tumour Research)

The 58-year-old was then taken to A&E where a CT scan revealed he had a glioblastoma brain tumour.

The aggressive tumour is commonly diagnosed in adults, with just 25 per cent of patients surviving more than a year, dropping to just five per cent surviving more than five years.

After rounds of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the father-of-two passed away in November 2021, two and a half years after his diagnosis.

His loved ones raised £2,800 in his memory for Brain Tumour Research - and now have seen how the money is being spent to spare other families going through the same tragedy.

His widow Jane, a former primary school teacher, said: “Simon and I met when I was 21 and he’d just left university. It would have been our 30th wedding anniversary last year.

“We always thought we’d grow old together and had plans to continue travelling once he’d retired. I’ll never forget the amazing holiday we had in Vietnam to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary."

She added: "It’s some comfort to think that all the donations made in Simon’s memory are helping to make a difference for people diagnosed with brain tumours in the future – tragically they devastate too many families.”

Last Wednesday, Jane and their sons Charlie, 27, and Tom, 25, were invited to the Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence at Queen Mary University of London to find out how their fundraising is helping support scientists leading the way in research.

The trio were given the opportunity to tour the labs at Queen Mary University of London, led by principal investigator Professor Silvia Marino.

They spoke to scientists about their work to find a cure for the disease and placed a tile on the Wall of Hope in Simon’s memory.

Jane said: "It was emotional placing Simon’s tile on the Wall of Hope. I still can’t believe that his cancer was incurable – so much funding seems to go into researching other forms of cancer, while brain tumours lag so far behind.

“Sadly, it’s too late for Simon, but I hope the money we’ve donated is life-changing.”