The seventh annual Santa Dash through Windsor Town Centre on Sunday saw 550 supporters gather to give the best Christmas present possible to sick children.

They were running to raise money for the Alexander Devine charity which built and runs the hospice for children with serious illnesses at Maidenhead.

The £18,000 they raised on the day will help it continue to flourish. The final amount is expected to be much higher as sponsorship money for the dash usually continues to arrive until February.

The largest team taking part this year was Team Sienna, named after a little girl taken before her time.

Her mum Ann Manley said: "This was Team Sienna’s third year taking part in the Santa Dash. Our Sienna loved everything Christmas and this event is a perfect way to remember her whilst raising vital funds and awareness for this incredible charity that gave the most outstanding care, support and guidance to us in our time in need. Each year our team grows and we are sincerely grateful to everyone who took part. We hope to see everyone again at the 2020 Santa dash, which is always the last Sunday in November.”

Community fundraiser for the charity Julia Philipson said: "The feedback from Dashers, volunteers and our marshals has been tremendous, most people who attended the event this year had heard about the event by word of mouth or had been before. This speaks volumes to us, people love our Windsor town centre Santa Dash and supporting our local charity. It is becoming a firm favourite in people’s festive diaries, we are so grateful.

"Our heartfelt thanks go out to everyone that took part on Sunday and to all our amazing marshals and volunteers. None of what we do is possible without incredible community support and the huge amount already raised could fund an Alexander’s Nurse for half a year enabling us to continue our vital work and reach out to more local children and their families."

The event has been sponsored from the start by Horler Estate Agents.

 

PHOTOS by Chris Morrell MBE and Noah London-Hobbs