MORE than 800 woman helped raise around £80,000 for the East Lancashire Hospice with a night-time walk through Blackburn.

The fourth annual Starlight Walk from 10pm on Saturday was extended from eight to 10 miles this year, starting and ending at the DW Soccerdome in Haslingden Road.

Those taking part wore commemorative t-shirts. Some had personalised them with their own designs and jewellery, and some went even further - wearing multi-coloured wigs, ra-ra skirts, glitter, and light-up hats.

The hospice's Cocker Spaniels Ebony and Orla even got in on the act with volunteer Heather Huggins decorating their leads with a sparkly feather boa.

Participant Helan (corr) Trisorio, 24, of Revidge, managed to raise £350 from staff and pupils at St Wilfrid’s High School in Blackburn where she works as a support assistant for deaf children.

She decided to take part in memory of her grandad William Creary who died at the hospice in February.

She said: “It was a really good night. The weather was nice and warm all the way round and I managed to complete the walk in two hours and 18 minutes.

“What was really nice was the atmosphere among the walkers, and people even came out of their houses to spur us on.”

It was a family affair for Gail Eccles, 44, her daughters Natalie, 20, and Bethany, 14, and sister Paula Green, 40, of the Infirmary area of Blackburn. They are hoping to have raised £200 in memory of their aunty Pat Pennington.

Gail said: “It was a brilliant night.

“My daughter Natalie is 24 weeks pregnant, so she had to pull out on the way, but the rest fo us finioished in three hours.”

Organiser Sharon Crymble of the Park Lee Road, Blackburn, hospice, said: “It was a brilliant night, absolutely fantastic.

“The first people started coming back at about 12.30am, and the last at 2.30am.

“The weather was good, and at 10pm everything started to become a bit cooler, so that helped a lot.

“We had water tables out over the course, and the worst problem was a few blisters I think!”

Sharon added: “We raised £80,000 last year and we’re hoping to have matched that this time. It really makes a huge difference to the running of the hospice to have these ladies raise that amount of money.”

The hospice needs to raise approximately £2.8 million each year to continue caring for people with terminal and life-threatening diseases, and relies heavily on donations and fundraising events.