Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Ledley King visited the Southside shopping centre to open a cancer awareness pop-up shop.

The shop, being run by the council’s public health team, was opened by England defender King on Friday, January 23.

The shop aims to spread the message about cancer prevention and encourage people to get checked out.

King said: "The club have been supporting Get to Know Cancer in raising awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer and promoting the importance of early diagnosis to Londoners. The campaign has been well received by our fans and local residents, encouraging them to go to their GP as soon as they notice something unusual with their health.

"I’m sure that this new pop-up shop will be just as successful in educating even more Londoners about the different signs of cancer to look out for. Remember, cancer can be ‘treatable, even beatable’ if diagnosed early."

Cancer survivors have supported the project, including 35-year-old Moses Kit, from Battersea, who has cancer of the thymus gland. He is currently in the second phase of treatment.

Wandsworth Times:

Council leader Ravi Govindia looks chuffed to be meeting Mr King 

Battersea MP Jane Ellison covers cancer protection in her role as public health minister and popped along to check out the shop.

She said: "More people are surviving cancer than ever before but we know early diagnosis is the key to improving survival rates further.

"The Government has spent more than £450m on early diagnosis - with two new Be Clear on Cancer campaigns starting this week - but far too many people still leave it late to seek help so bringing health advice into an everyday setting like Southside is a great way of reaching out.

"I was delighted to see that there was plenty of healthy lifestyle information in the Pop Up Shop too, so my constituents and other local people can get advice about how to reduce their risk of getting cancer in the first place."