ESSEX girls have banded together to produce a 2014 calendar showcasing the sights of the county to reach their target of raising £1,500 for Cancer Research UK.

Model Georgia Shipley, 19, of Woodgrange Drive, Southend, enlisted an army of photographers, models, clothes designers and make-up artists – all of whom have been touched by cancer – to produce the calendar.

She initially posted the idea on Facebook in 2012 and within half an hour she had enough volunteers to bring the project to life.

Shot on location in south Essex, the Shoebury beach huts and Army barracks are just some of the sites featured in this very Essex production.

Georgia chose Cancer Research UK in memory of her late grandad Derek, who passed away eight years ago from cancer.

She said: “He died when I was quite young.

“I didn’t get to spend that much time with him, so I wanted to do something in his memory.”

Printing problems meant the 2013 calendar had to be scrapped, but after a reshoot in July this year the calendar is now ready to go on sale.

Georgia added: “When I came up with the idea originally I didn’t say anything to my grandma.

“She was a bit teary when I showed her the final calendar though.”

Should all 500 calendars sell, Georgia will have raised £1,500 for Cancer Research UK, as a fitting tribute to her late grandad.

Lynn Daly, the charity’s Essex spokeswoman, praised Georgia’s efforts.

She said: “Georgia and her friends have put in a lot of hard work to bring this calendar together.

“We are very grateful to them for all their efforts and hope it sells out. We could not carry on our work to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer without people like them.”

Essex Girls for Cancer Research 2014 can be bought for £5 from eBay, or at Budget Cards, in Woodgrange Drive, Southend.

Alternatively, e-mail teresashipley@hotmail.com