MANY things are agreed to in the local pub – another drink, the next gathering or the conclusion of a good debate.

But a group of Leominster friends who often frequent the same watering hole put their shared hobby to good use to raise awareness of men's health.

The group, who met at the Grapes pub in Leominster, first discovered the 'Movember' phenomenon nine years ago when Clive Denley's son got involved while in Australia.

Clive said: "I said to him 'what's this all about' and he told me how it was for awareness of prostate cancer and men's health. So the following year I decided to get involved myself."

The Movember campaign raises funds and awareness for men's health. Those men who take part allow their moustache to grow for the entire month of November while collecting sponsorship and spreading the word about what they're up to.

After Clive started things off, regulars at the Grapes began to get involved one by one and eight years later, the team of six are still rallying to the cause.

As time has gone by, it has also become a cause with a deeper meaning after one member of the group, Robert Preece, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2011. Another, Mark Reece, had an anxious five-week wait to find out whether he also had the disease.

Rob's diagnosis came following a screening event at the Legion in Leominster.

He said: "We tell everybody, just go to your GP, get a PSA blood test. It doesn't tell you straight away whether you have got it but it will indicate whether you need more tests. Early detection is really important."

Rob added: "I caught it early enough and treated it and I'm now six years clear."

Although the group do raise money for various charities, one of the main elements of their Movember campaign is raising awareness.

Mark added: "People will stop you and ask what you're doing and ask all about it. It's all about awareness for us. People shouldn't be embarrassed to go and get checked out."

A team of seven colleagues from De Koffie Pot, based at Left Bank, also took part in Movember and raised £370.