Rugby Town Hall lit up purple to raise awareness of illness which kills 93 per cent of sufferers within five years

The Town Hall was lit up from 4pm to 8pm in support of World Pancreatic Cancer Day.

For Rugby Borough councillors Kieren and Barbara Brown, this day and month have special meaning.

They said: "It is so important we raise awareness of this terrible illness.

Richard, who lost his life to pancreatic cancer at 66.

"We lost our amazing, lovely, Richard to pancreatic cancer just three years ago just three weeks after diagnosis.

"He was 66 years old and had so much more to live for.

"We need to promote early diagnosis and detection, funding for research, and just raise awareness.

"We as a family would like to thank Rugby Borough Council for helping to promote this vitally important cause."

According to Pancratic Cancer UK, pancreatic cancer has the lowest survival of all common cancers, with five-year survival less than seven per cent.

And the five-year survival rate of pancreatic cancer in the UK lags behind the rest of the world - with the UK ranking 29th out of 33 countries

In the UK, around 8,500 people are diagnosed with it and 7,800 people die every year.

Adam Norburn, executive director of Rugby Borough Council, said: "We are pleased to help raise awareness for World Pancreatic Cancer Day.

"The symptoms of pancreatic cancer are easily missed, so we hope that more awareness will help residents get an earlier diagnosis and better treatment options.

"Like a lot of organisations, many of our staff and councillors have been affected by cancer and, when we were asked to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer, we were keen to see what we could do to help."

The first noticeable symptoms of pancreatic cancer are often:

- Pain in the back or stomach area, which may come and go at first and is often worse when lying down or after eating.

- Weight loss which is unexplained.

- Yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes, it also may cause dark yellow or orange urine, pale-coloured stool and itchy skin.

To learn more, and to donate, visit: www.worldpancreaticcancerday.org