A terminally-ill regional daily columnist has been honoured by a cancer charity.

Macmillan Jersey has named a room at its base after Gary Burgess, who writes for the Jersey Evening Post.

The Gary Burgess Room, at the building in St Helier, will provide a confidential and comfortable space for people to talk about the impact of their cancer diagnosis.

The honour comes after Gary, pictured, requested that £33,625 raised for him through an online fundraiser was given to the charity instead. The donation has funded the room for another two years.

Lauren Perchard Rees, executive director of Macmillan Jersey, said: “Not only do we want to recognise Gary’s contribution to our island, by talking about his diagnosis openly and being vocal about the services on offer here in Jersey, he has helped ensure islanders are aware of what we do at Macmillan Jersey – and how we support anyone affected by cancer.

Gary described the gesture as “an honour” on Twitter.