WALKERS donned their waterproofs to honour their loved ones and raise thousands of pounds for a cancer charity.

People of all ages walked or ran the StarWalk through Kendal on Saturday to support CancerCare's invaluable work in South Lakeland.

And although there was some rain as Storm Brian approached from across the Atlantic Ocean, the weather proved to be kinder than expected and the night was hailed a success.

‘Light up the Night’ was the theme for this year’ walk, which also incorporated the charity’s new StarFest which included bands, singers, stalls, food, a balloon artist and ‘glow-in-the-dark’ cocktails.

Everyone had their own special reason for doing the StarWalk and some did it with work colleagues.

Gates Travel Agency, based in Kendal and Ambleside, completed the StarWalk in memory of their friend and colleague Maralyn ‘Maz’ Bean who was supported by CancerCare and passed away from cancer 18 months ago.

Angela Dobson, from Kendal, said: “We miss Maralyn every day. She was one of the best friends you could have.

“Ten of us did the walk. Maz had done it before. If they can battle cancer, we can battle the elements!”

A group of colleagues and regulars from The Jolly Anglers pub in Burneside also did the walk to support the charity’s work.

Mary Harkness and Mary Choiseul from Crosthwaite completed the 10k challenge in memory of Mary’s mother, Freda Harkness, who passed away from cancer in the ‘60s before community cancer support services were available.

Mary’s four Kendal-born daughters, Emily Gent, of Kendal, Tess Jefferson, of Lyth, Sarah Gent, of Mickleton, Gloucestershire, and Chloe O'Hare of Penrith, also did the challenge in honour of the grandmother they never met.

The first person to complete the 5k was ‘Women on the Run’ running group member, Natalie Hartley, 28, from Kendal, completed it in 35 minutes. In second place was Charlotte Crawford, a pupil at Queen Katherine School in Kendal. A family group from Kendal was in third place with Dorothy Banton, her husband Keith, her sister Mary Atkinson and friend Kirstie Halliwell.

Dorothy said: “My husband Keith has cancer and has been well looked after by CancerCare so that’s why we got involved.

“It was a lovely event and we’d do it again, all being well.”

First in for the 10k event was Mark Partridge from Lancaster with a time of 53 minutes. Paul Percival-Smith from Kendal was second and Rosie Bishop and Alice Dunning from Kendal were in third place.

Neil Townsend, chief executive of CancerCare, said: “It was a fantastic night and I’d like to thank everyone who came along to support it.

“It was lovely to see people we have supported and their family, friends and colleagues taking part in our StarWalk. I would like to say a massive ‘thank you’ to everyone who raised funds and to all of our supporters."