JUDGING a children’s fundraising scavenger hunt from his hospital bed “cheered up” a Musselburgh student who is battling a rare type of bone cancer.

Dan Taylor, 21, was delighted to be asked to choose the winners of the competition, which was organised by Pinocchio’s Nursery at Eskbank, Midlothian, where his 21-year-old girlfriend Kirsty Hunter, from Musselburgh, works.

He was full of praise for the youngsters, whose sponsored efforts raised £1,120 for the Teenage Cancer Trust, which largely funds the Western General Hospital’s Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Unit.

The unit makes the hospital stay better for young people aged between 16 and 25, with all bedrooms equipped with soft furnishings, bespoke furniture, TVs, DVDs, gaming facilities and dedicated WiFi, with laptops provided.

The nursery decided to fundraise for the trust after hearing that Dan, who is studying sport and exercise at Edinburgh Napier University, had osteosarcoma after visiting his doctor with a sore leg. Most people diagnosed with the condition are under 25.

Dan, whose treatment involves him spending time at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh, has had four blood transfusions and is now coming to the end of his 10-week block of chemotherapy.

After a recent scan on his leg, he has been given the good news that the tumour has shrunk enough to be operated on and the part of the tumour inside his bone is dying.

Colleagues and families at the nursery have rallied round to support Dan and Kirsty, who are both former pupils of Musselburgh Grammar School.

The sponsored scavenger hunt involved the children being given 10 objects to find at home and around the local community. They included a purple ribbon, three buttons, sticks and grass.

Then they had to use the items in the most creative way to make a picture, with Dan choosing three winners from the baby, junior and pre-school sections.

Dan said: “It was amazing to see how much effort had been put in and the different ways the children had used the items to create such different pictures.

“It was a tough decision but the three I chose were the three that stood out most to me. It cheered me up a lot being able to judge them.”

Pinocchio’s pre-school supervisor Emma Edwards, from Bonnyrigg, has also set up a JustGiving page which has raised £4,120 for the Teenage Cancer Trust so far.

To donate, go to justgiving.com/fundraising/pinocchios-against-cancer