A KIND local hotel owner is shaving his head and hosting a charity night for a cause close to his heart.

Stewart McCartney, who owns the Spinnaker Hotel in Gourock, was inspired to help arrange a fundraising event there on Saturday April 13 following the sad passing of his partner’s brother, Paul Fraser.

Paul had been diagnosed with lung cancer last year then he contracted sepsis and died a few weeks later, aged 60.

Stewart's partner Chris Fraser, who also lives in Gourock, said: "Paul had been diagnosed with lung cancer in March and unfortunately contracted sepsis after being taken to Inverclyde Royal Hospital.

"He sadly passed away on the fifteenth of April last year.

"Paul was a lovely person, full of fun, an avid Morton supporter and much loved by all his family and friends in the Greenock pub The Hole in The Wa."

After considering which charity to raise funds for, Chris decided on helping to increase awareness of sepsis having spoken to her friend, Liz Norman a local urology clinical nurse specialist.

Liz had sent her information on a Scottish sepsis research charity.

Chris was also moved to help the couple's friend Raymond Swankie, after hearing about how sepsis claimed the life of his wife Louise.

She said: "I met Raymond in the hotel on the night of his wife’s funeral and couldn't believe what had happened, so we decided to hold a charity evening to support research and raise awareness of sepsis.

Chris, a senior procurement officer at West Dunbartonshire Council, and her friends have managed to secure some fantastic auction prizes and tickets for the charity event, which sold out in just two days.

Guests will be able to bid for the chance to shave Stewart's head on the night.

Chris said: "We've had a great response from the community.

"Local businesses, colleagues at West Dunbartonshire Council, the SENIT Foundation, Amazon, Remix, Michelle Kerr, Kevin Hunter and Golden Casket, to name a few, have offered fantastic items for an auction to be held on the night."

Kirsteen Brodie from Sepsis Research says the condition kills 52,000 people every year in the UK.

She said: "Sepsis can affect young or old and you don't have to have existing health conditions.

"It can be masked by other conditions."

People can contract sepsis with something as simple as a paper cut.

It happens when the body's response to an infection damages its own tissues and organs.

It can lead to shock, multiple organ failure and death if it is not recognised early and treated promptly.

It is hoped that as well as raising funds for research the charity night will raise vital awareness about the condition.