CAR wash worker Luke Carter went barefoot in the park and sprinted to victory in the Blackburn Borough Rotary Club annual fun run.

The four-mile charity event in Witton Park attracted a field of more than 100 runners.

And Luke, 17, of Rolleston Road, Blackburn, charged first through the finishing line holding his running shoes aloft in celebration. "I started suffering with blisters and decided the best thing to do was to take them off," he said.

But the enforced stop did not prevent him winning by several hundred yards in a time of just over 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, 11-year-old Rachel Searson was an equally impressive winner in the two-mile junior race.

She completed the parkland course in 15 minutes and explained she was in a hurry for more than one reason.

"I'm off to play football now," the Lammack Juniors youngster, of Kentmere Drive, Feniscowles, explained.

The Rotary Club's annual event was this year run in aid of Blackburn charity THOMAS, which helps socially-excluded people enjoy a better life.

Rotary Club president George Pendlebury said: "THOMAS is a well-respected local organisation helping the homeless, ex-offenders, addicts and many others to find their feet again. They need our help."