A Stockport businessman is stepping down from his insurance company after 40 years to focus on his charity work.

Barry Thompson, 67, a colourful character known for his wacky suits, has already dedicated 10 years to raising money for the care of teenage cancer sufferers.

He drew more than 50 people from the Manchester and Stockport business community to his retirement party, where they toasted his efforts for the young oncology unit at The Christie Hospital.

The father-of-two and his brother Peter were born and bred in Stockport and founded Thompson Brothers Insurance on Wellington Road 40 years ago, just a stone's throw from their childhood home on Beech Road.

Over the years, Barry, a keen runner and member of Stockport Harriers, has raised around £300,000 for oncology care with traditional fundraisers such as coffee mornings and cocktail parties and others more mad-cap.

He has persuaded friends and family to join him in sky dives and zip wire challenges. On one occasion, he even 'locked up' 20 prominent business leaders from the insurance industry in the Victorian cells of the Greater Manchester Police Museum with the challenge of paying up to be released. That made £20,000.

Well-wishers turned out in force to Barry's retirement party (Image - Jan Roberts)

He was honoured to be made a Christie Hospital Ambassador, and visits local secondary schools to talk about its work and inspire fundraisers of the future.

Barry said: "A few years ago my wife Christine suffered kidney cancer and got over it only later to be diagnosed with breast cancer. Not connected, just sheer bad luck.

"She's thankfully recovered but I remain in awe of her bravery. I began to think about teenagers and how they would deal with such a diagnosis.

"So in my year as President of the Insurance Institute of Manchester I started my fundraising journey. It's been wonderful to meet youngsters in local schools and see the empathy they have. I inject some fun into my presentations and take some stick as a Manchester City fan but the message gets through.

"It's always very touching when they come up to me afterwards to ask what they can do to help raise money."

Barry and his older brother, who retired a few years ago, opened Thompson Brothers Insurance in 1982. The firm, now part of The County Group, insures scores of shops and businesses across the region.

But his business career began well before. As a schoolboy Barry went round on his bike selling paper bags, bought from a wholesaler, to greengrocers, butchers and sweet shops in Stockport. At 19 he was behind the counter of his own newsagents shop called Lyntons in Manchester.

Barry will continue fundraising and touring schools in his retirement (Image - Jan Roberts)

He later joined his brother, who was working as an insurance broker, in establishing the family firm that employs seven people and is one of the oldest insurance firms in Stockport.

He added: "As a lad they called me 'Cheeky Barry' but I have always tried to build relationships with friendly banter.

"Now people look forward to the wacky suits I am going to wear to networking events and family functions. If it raises a smile I'm happy."

His charity work has supported many projects at The Christie including a high dependency room in the Young Oncology Unit. He was hands on in the development, even helping to plaster.  

He will continue fundraising and touring schools in his retirement while also helping his sons, Vincent, 40, who runs Bright Carbon, a power point presentation business, and Alex, 35, who has a make-up accessories business.

County Group CEO Alistair Christopherson said: "We have some wonderful characters working across our offices, and Barry is certainly one of them. He has shown what can be done to support a good cause as a well-respected member of the local business community.

"From all our 40 offices across the country we wish him all the best in his retirement and his future works for The Christie."

For more on Thompson Brothers you can visit their website HERE.

Free from clickbait, pop-up ads and unwanted surveys, Stockport Nub News is a quality online newspaper for our town.

To get our top stories in your inbox each week, subscribe to our free weekly newsletter HERE.

Please consider following Stockport Nub News on Facebook or Twitter