Alice Rees, a member of the Nationwide Building Society Martial Arts Club in Swindon, was treated nearly a year ago at Bath Royal United Hospital after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma cancer. Happily, Alice, aged 32, is in remission.

This club recently raised £2,448 during a sparring marathon. They hold a charity event each year. Alice chose the Bath Cancer Research Unit as this year's charity because of their work in tailoring chemotherapy to the individual.

Dr Andrew Bosanquet, director of Bath Cancer Research, said: "This is a tremendous effort by the Nationwide Martial Arts Club, who are to be congratulated on such a successful spar. It is also a great encouragement to us at Bath Cancer Research."

Bath Cancer Research is a local cancer research centre on the Bath Hospital site. The staff consists of a small team of expert scientists working with Dr Bosanquet.

The sparring during the event consisted of keeping two people sparring continuously for 90 rounds over three hours. Each member of the eight-strong Nationwide employee team completed 25 two-minute rounds each. They study JeePai Kung Fu.

John Codling, the club president and with an alias as the Kung Fu Cod', said: "This is the equivalent of two world title contests of 12 rounds."

Other members of the club boast equally menacing names such as Ear Biter and Violent Vinall.

The presentation of the cheque was held at the Wolfson Centre for Research on the hospital site.

Haydn Wilkins, the unit manager said: "This is a much-needed boost for our research, as we depend heavily at present on local charitable donations and receive no government or NHS money."