BLAENAVON united behind the message of hope and raising awareness of pancreatic cancer on Friday as part of World Pancreatic Cancer Day.

The Torfaen town is midway through ‘Blaenavon Purple Town of Hope’ and many of the establishments and enterprises from across the town are backing the scheme.

As part of the world awareness day, the town gave itself a purple hue with banners, bunting and lights all promoting the cause.

Even establishments on the outskirts of the town such as Rhymney Brewery, Big Pit and the Blaenavon Ironworks took part in the event, which is said to have created a fantastic sense of community spirit.

“A lot of the praise has to go to the organisers but also the town itself,” said Jerry Woodhouse from Blaenafon Cheddar Co, who were offering free cheese tasters.

“It is great to see everyone getting behind this message of hope and even those places on the edge of the town have bought into it.”

Many of the events are running throughout November, which is the pancreatic cancer awareness month for the charity Pancreatic Cancer UK.

Purple t-shirts were on sale in Frets, which allowed anyone who purchased one the chance to have a free tour of Rhymney Brewery.

Shop owner David Holland said: “This whole event has been organised and taken up by people from Blaenavon.

“The town has rightfully got behind it and while the organisation has been fantastic, a lot of credit must go to the community for their commitment.”

A spokeswoman from Blaenavon Purple Town of Hope said: “I received a message from this small village in Canada about what we are doing.

“Awareness is the key to beating this horrible disease and if a town like Blaenavon can reach British Columbia, then we are doing something right and equally important.”