A British man has been praised after a photo he posted to raise awareness of prostate cancer was shared thousands of times.

Kurt Jewson, a self-described "tubby, pale and middle aged" man, admitted he had been unsure about whether to post the image, which shows him scarred from surgery and wearing a catheter and colostemy bag.

However, he said that, having only been diagnosed with the disease a whole year after finding blood in his urine, the message was "too important for me to be vain about".

Jewson said he had spoken to his GP about the symptom when it first emerged in the summer of 2014. After being told it was "probably just an infection", he thought it was nothing to worry about.

The 44-year-old, who now faces yet another operation and then either radio- or chemotherapy, is now urging men to spend five minutes on the Prostate Cancer website - a move he says "could save your life".

"Prostate cancer is becoming more prevalent in 'younger' men. Men our age," he added.

"If you have blood in your urine, or any other symptom listed on Prostate [Cancer] UK's website, then get a blood PSA test. Insist upon it."

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK, with around 44,000 men diagnosed every year.

At the time of writing, the post has been shared more than 30,000 times, and prompted widespread praise from Facebook users.

After the overwhelming feedback, he added: "I'm feeling the love. Many thanks everyone. I'll take that, and use on days when I'm feeling a bit sorry for myself."