John Burkhill Sheffield: Save the date for celebration of Man With The Pram's million-pound dream

A party to celebrate legendary Sheffield fundraiser John ‘The Man with the Pram’ Burkhill is being thrown next week in the city centre - and everyone is invited.

The celebration event for the green-wigged local hero will take place at 11am at Sheffield's Winter Garden on Thursday, August 17.

It comes after John, 84, achieved his dream in May of raising £1,000,000 for Macmillan Cancer Research through humble bucket rattling and tackling marathon after marathon.

Anyone who wants to help congratulate John's incredible achievements in changing the lives of people with cancer is invited to join the party.

There is even a chance to help show John just how much he means to his city, as every attendee will get the opportunity to write a postcard of thanks to John. By the end of the day, it is hoped he will have hundreds of messages from his adoring fans for him to keep.

John hit the magic million in May, 16 years after he started fundraising for Macmillan Cancer Support after losing his beloved wife June.

The 84-year-old from Handsworth initially set himself a £250,000 fundraising target back in 2007, then moved the goalpost to £1m in 2013 when he reached his first milestone.

It took him another 10 years to reach his ‘magic million,’ but with his late wife and daughter his inspiration, John was never going to give up and was determined to hit the target before his 85th birthday in January.

The pram he pushes is the one he bought for his daughter in 1961. He says it makes him feel as though daughter Karen and wife June are both with him as he pounds the streets in their memory.

He has no plans of stopping though. In a talk with The Star in May, John said: "I’ll keep going. People have always asked me what I’ll do when I get there, but I’ve got to carry on.

“I know it’s a bit daft, but when I’m shoving that pram, both my daughter and wife are still with me. They keep me going. As long as I can put one foot in front of the other, I’ll keep going.”

Sheffield Lord Mayor Colin Ross, who will be hosting the event, said: “I’m very proud to be hosting a civic event for John Burkhill, whose achievements have been nothing short of astounding. To raise over £1million for charity is no mean feat and it’s only right that we honour John’s achievements in a public setting for people to enjoy.

“I’d love to see people there, dressed in Macmillan green, celebrating John together. The public can leave messages of thanks for John to read, alongside hearing from a number of people who want to publicly thank John for raising so much money for Macmillan Cancer Support. This will be a special celebration for John, for Macmillan and the city.”