LEGENDARY former Saints manager Lawrie McMenemy kicked off a new era for cancer care in a Hampshire village.

Southampton FC’s only FA Cup-winning boss cut the ribbon on the new Waterside Cancer Support Centre at The Grove in Hythe.

The facility, funded by grants and donations, will feature trained volunteers capable of offering free support and information to cancer sufferers and their families.

Lawrie, also a vice president of the Wessex Cancer Trust, said the centre was “much-needed”.

He told a packed gathering: “I do know a lot about what you are supporting and I think when someone gets such a dreaded disease, it doesn’t affect just that one person.

“It affects the people around them – the family and friends – and you do really need something like this where you have someone to talk to who knows what you are going through. It is so important.”

The centre will operate in a similar fashion to Romsey’s Jayne Scarth House drop-in centre. It will open initially on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10am to 4pm.