Hundreds of 'socially distanced' Santas took to the great outdoors last week to raise money for Windsor and Maidenhead's hospice.

The annual Santa Dash is a popular annual event that raises vital funds enabling the Thames Hospice at Bray Lake to continue caring for people with life limiting diseases.

It is usually a community event bringing people together at Swinley Forest.

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But this year the 450 people who took part had to 'do it their own way' because of the Coronavirus, picking their own walking or running route over a 3k, 5k or 10k distance.

It did not dent the fundraising enthusiasm though.

Alison Evans, head of community and events fundraising, said: “Our annual Santa Dash is always such a great event which really kicks off the Christmas season. As sad as it was that we couldn’t be together as a community this year, it was so great to see over 450 people taking part and supporting us.

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“Thank you to everyone who signed up and fundraised for us; the support we’ve been shown from our community and local organisations has been truly amazing in this challenging year.”

To date, the Santa Dash has raised an incredible £45,000 for the hospice.

If you took part in this year's dash on Sunday, December 6 the hospice is encouraging everyone to share their Santa photos on their Facebook page and tag them using @thameshospcare, or tweet the hospice with their photos @thameshospcare.

For more information on upcoming Thames Hospice events and fundraising, visit www.thameshospice.org.uk/events