A group of young students will be rolling up their sleeves after taking part in an auction of promises to raise money for cancer research.

There to help them was Olympic athlete Chris Maddocks, who will also be giving up his time for the Telegraph & Argus Bradford Can...Cancer Research Appeal, a charity which aims to raise £1 million to help fight the war on cancer.

The money raised by Bradford Can... will fund pioneering research at the University of Bradford's Cancer Research Unit, work which will benefit cancer sufferers all over the world.

It will also pay for more patient trials of anti-cancer drugs at Bradford Royal Infirmary, which will help the 10,600 new cancer cases diagnosed in West Yorkshire each year.

The auction of promises was organised by students Rachel Philips and Steph Lloyd at Trinity and All Saints College, Horsforth, and was held in the campus's Priory Bar.

It was attended by speed walker Chris, who took part in the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Bidders were offered a day of personal training from Chris and the chance to have a photo taken with him wearing his Olympic track suit.

A massage, Dutch language lessons, trumpet lessons, car washing and a day's cooking, cleaning and washing were also up for grabs.

Steph, who will be giving a trumpet lesson, said: "The evening went really well, the bar was packed and we raised £200 from the auction and a raffle.

"We had a lot of fun but we had in the back of our minds the reason why we were raising money.

"We just hope the money will make a difference because the Bradford Can... appeal is so important.

"Nationally 100,000 cases of cancer are successfully treated every year. With a bit of help from us and others raising money, we hope we can increase that figure."

The money raised will be doubled through a match-funding offer by Sovereign Healthcare, of Manningham Lane, Bradford.