Colin Bloomfield (22 February 1982 – 25 April 2015) was an English radio personality best known for his coverage of Derby County F.C. on

BBC Radio Derby BBC Radio Derby is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving Derbyshire and East Staffordshire. It broadcasts on frequency modulation, FM, AM broadcasting, AM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from s ...

, as a presenter, reporter and commentator. Following his terminal prognosis for

melanoma Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer; it develops from the melanin-producing cells known as melanocytes. It typically occurs in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye (uveal melanoma). In very rare case ...

, he became an activist and fundraiser, setting up an eponymous appeal to educate children about the illness.

Early life and media career

Bloomfield was born in

Montford Bridge Montford Bridge is a village and bridge. The village is in Shropshire, England, UK. The bridge is in that village. It lies on the River Severn and is close to the town of Shrewsbury. Village Most of the village is in the Montford, Shropshi ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

. His father Lawrie was the first managing editor of BBC Radio Shropshire after it was founded in 1985. He attended Bicton School, The Corbet School in

Baschurch Baschurch is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It lies in the north of Shropshire. The village had a population of 2,503 as of the 2011 census. Shrewsbury is to the south-east, Oswestry is to the north-west, and Wem is to the n ...

, Shrewsbury Sixth Form College and the

University of Central Lancashire The University of Lancashire (previously abbreviated UCLan) is a public university based in the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. It has its roots in ''The Institution For The Diffusion Of Useful Knowledge'', founded in 1828. Previously k ...

in Preston. Bloomfield spent ten years working at

. A fan of his local team

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

, he was best known for his radio coverage of

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

, but also presented content on other issues, including interviewing the Prime Minister,

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

Illness

In 2001, Bloomfield discovered changes in a mole, which turned out to be a malignant

. It was removed from his leg, and he was given an all-clear in 2006. However, in 2013, it returned. The following year, after it

metastasis Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spreading from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor. The newly pathological sites, ...

ed to his lungs, he was told that he had months to live. He remained open and optimistic despite his illness. In February 2015, he initiated the Colin Bloomfield Melanoma Appeal in conjunction with BBC Radio Derby, the ''

Derby Telegraph The ''Derby Telegraph'', formerly the ''Derby Evening Telegraph'', is a daily tabloid newspaper distributed in the Derby area of England. Stories produced by the ''Derby Telegraph'' team are published online under the Derbyshire Live brand. Hi ...

'' and charity Skcin. The appeal aims to educate children on prevention of melanoma. On 31 March, it reached its initial target of £45,000 after a £10,000 donation from the city's

Freemasons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, and a new target of £75,000 was set. Derby County had raised £14,000 for it with £10 from every away ticket sold for their fixture against

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

. Former England footballer and manager

Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. Nicknamed "King Kev" or "Mighty Mouse", Keegan was recognised for his dribbling ability, as well as his finishing and presence in the air, and is regard ...

gave a presentation at Derby County's Pride Park which raised £600 for the appeal in April. Former footballer

Jimmy Greaves James Peter Greaves (20 February 1940 – 19 September 2021) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. Regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time and one of England's best ever players, he is England's fifth- ...

and comedian Bobby Davro also gave performances for the appeal. The Derby Brewing Company made a new beer in honour of former Derby County player Dave Mackay, who had died earlier that year, with some of the profits going to the appeal.

Death

Bloomfield died at a hospice near his family home on 25 April 2015, aged 33. Later that day, Shrewsbury Town achieved promotion to League One, which they dedicated to Bloomfield and to Lloyd Burton, an eleven-year-old fan who had died of a brain tumour earlier that week. Bloomfield's funeral was held on 13 May, at

St Chad's Church, Shrewsbury St Chad's Church in Shrewsbury is traditionally understood to have been founded in Saxon times. Offa of Mercia, King Offa, who reigned in Mercia from 757 to 796 AD, is believed to have founded the church, though it is possible it has an earlier ...

, with his coffin endowed with a Shrewsbury Town flag and Derby County scarf. Shrewsbury manager

Micky Mellon Michael Joseph Mellon (born 18 March 1972) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player who is the manager of club Oldham Athletic. As a player, he was a midfielder for clubs including Bristol City, West Bromwich Albion, Blackp ...

read from the Bible, and former Derby player Roger Davies and

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

-born Olympic swimmer Ross Davenport were among the mourners. By the time of his funeral, Bloomfield's appeal had raised over £100,000. It operates a free mobile mole-checking service around the Derby area, and of 500 people it had checked, 28 were given urgent referrals to doctors.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloomfield, Colin 1982 births 2015 deaths Alumni of the University of Central Lancashire People from Shrewsbury English radio presenters BBC sports presenters and reporters English association football commentators Charity fundraisers (people) Deaths from cancer in England Deaths from melanoma in the United Kingdom 20th-century philanthropists