IAN Beattie has raised tens of thousands of pounds for a host of charities and community groups in Bristol since the city became his adopted home.

He helped set up an organisation which has taught health and drug education to 30,000 children and a group to highlight the danger of prostate cancer in men.

And now he has been nominated for one of four centenary honorary degrees which are being offered by Bristol University to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its opening.

Ian, aged 67, who was born in County Antrim, moved to Bristol in 1982 when he worked as a technical manager for chemical giants Unilever in its cosmetics division.

He said: "I joined the Sneyd Park residents' association in 1982 and was chairman up until 1994. I first got involved in community work when we restored an old wooden bus shelter on Clifton Downs and a stone wall alongside Mariner's Path."

In 1990 he joined the Rotarians who raise funds for local community groups and international charities.

He said: "My first big event was getting involved with the Festival of the Sea in 1996 when the Rotarians provided about 100 volunteers for marshalling and other duties.

"We also held a concert which raised money for the Matthew when she sailed to Canada.

"In 1997 I was a founder member of the Life Education Centre which provides a mobile classroom to tour primary schools as part of the personal social health education curriculum With a grant from the John James Foundation in 2002 we expanded the service and now visit around 13,000 children a year, or about 30,000 in the last eight years."

When one of his friends in the Rotary movement died of prostate cancer in 2002 he was asked if he would help in raising public awareness about the disease.

He said: "We have held three events which have so far raise £130,000 towards funding research into the causes of prostate cancer."