Newport barbershop raises £1,500 for cancer charities after 12-hour darts marathon
The 12-hour darts marathon brought Newport residents together to support two cancer charities
A Newport barber and his friend have raised more than £1,500 for two cancer charities that have supported them through a personal cancer journey.
Jimmy Harrison, of Minimal Barbers, and Dale Vernon hosted a 12-hour darts marathon at the shop on Sunday, October 18, attracting players of all abilities from 8am to 8pm.
The pair set out to score 100,000 points on the dartboard, reaching their target with four hours of the fundraiser still to go.
They raised money for Macmillan Cancer Support and Lingen Davies Cancer Support, both of which have supported Dale during his treatment.
Dale, 52, was first diagnosed with cancer in 2019. He met Jimmy in 2023, when his cancer was identified for a second time.
In 2025, Dale was diagnosed with peritoneal disease and precaval lymph nodes and given 12 to 18 months to live. He began immunotherapy at The Christie, a specialist NHS cancer centre in Manchester, in December that year.
He now receives treatment at the Lingen Davies Centre at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, and his cancer is currently stable.
Dale, who has worked as a tour bus driver for musicians including Drake, Post Malone and Rihanna, said the idea for the fundraiser came after the pair saw Macmillan’s darts marathon campaign.
“We saw Macmillan does darts marathon and because Minimal Barbers has their dartboard up in the shop, it was a natural decision,” he said.
“People showed interest straight away and said they were going to pop in but we weren’t sure how many of them would turn up on the day.”
The friends said they were overwhelmed by the response, with a steady stream of people visiting throughout the day. Local businesses also donated prizes for a raffle.
Jimmy said: “We can’t believe how many people came out to support us, all day there was a constant flow of people from all different ages and backgrounds and it was amazing to smash our target so early on.
“Newport is a place where people do come together to support and spur each other on so that kept us going to the end of the marathon.”
He added: “Being able to raise a large amount of money for such important causes was fantastic, we weren’t expecting to get that much.”