FORTH VALLEY police have made a rare donation request after one of their officers was given just months to live.

The force took the unusual step after Cameron Shanks was diagnosed with terminal cancer of the stomach and was given less than a year to live.

Colleagues of Cameron decided that as well as asking the public to help, they would raise money through the gruelling Three Peaks challenge.

Nine FV officers took on the challenge at the weekend, August 17, by climbing Britain’s three highest mountains – Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowden.

A spokesperson for the force said: “At the end of June as a division, we sent out a donation request, which is something that we would rarely do, however it was for a special cause.

“Our colleague, Cameron (Cammy) Shanks, was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer and was a given 6-10 months life expectancy from his diagnosis.

“On the June post we gave a run-down of Cammy's service history, over 40 service to the public, and details of his chosen charity which was Maggie's Centres Forth Valley; who are supporting Cammy and his family in his journey, as they support countless others.”

The fundraising target has already been smashed with just more than £3,000 raised, more than £500 above the £2,500 target.

A tribute to Cameron was written on the JustGiving page which read: “Cammy had 30 years of police service with Central Scotland Police, during which he spent most of his service as a dog handler.

“After his retirement from the Police Service, Cammy dedicated himself for another 12 years to the training and development of new recruits at the Police Scotland Training College at Tulliallan, where he continued to work up until his diagnosis.

“Cammy has always been a very popular figure, both within the Police Service as a renowned dog handler and within the training environment at the training college and is well known within the Forth Valley for his DJ skills.

“In his personal life, Cammy is married to Claire and has four grown up children, with a new grandchild recently born.”

Anyone who wishes to contribute can do so http://ow.ly/lvXK50uK9JR.