HUNDREDS of fundraisers came together in Southend to raise money for a cancer charity and it proved to be a huge success once more.

The Relay For Life event took place at Southend Leisure and Tennis Centre, Eastern Avenue, Southend, on Saturday.

Kieran Meikle, 38, a member of the organising committee, was delighted with the success of the event.

He said: “It went really well, we had 400 people who took part in the event and we had 73 cancer survivors who were treated to a special reception. We are delighted with the response.”

There are over 50 Relay For Life events happening across the UK, and thousands more around the world.

The event organisers encourage people to put together a team of friends and family to fundraise, and then enter their team in their nearest event and meet other people going the extra mile to fund life-saving cancer research.

The fundraisers then join with their community for a 24-hour celebration, showing that together we are stronger than cancer.

The event supports Cancer Research, the world’s leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through research.

The charity receives no Government funding for its life-saving research. Every step taken towards beating cancer relies on every pound donated.

The runners even endured the British weather, including pouring rain, but they didn’t let it dampen their spirits.

Many of the runners and walkers who entered the event this year chose to take part in memory of a loved one and had names and photographs pinned to the back of their T-shirts.

Others decided to give people a giggle as they took part, donning fancy dress, bows in their hair, fairy wings and tutus.

Many of the runners showed they were part of a team by wearing matching outfits or T-shirts, often with poignant messages in memory of someone affected by cancer.

There were tears from many during a moment of silence, held at each race to remember why it takes place, but the tears soon turned to smiles and laughter as the runners were cheered around the course.

One in two people in the United Kingdom will be diagnosed with cancer at some stage in their lives, but thanks to research by charity’s such as Cancer Research UK more people are now surviving the disease than ever before.

Cancer survival rates have now doubled since the early Seventies.

Cancer Research UK’s life-saving work relies on the public’s support.

Thanks to the generosity of its supporters, the charity was able to spend over £41million last year in East Anglia on some of the UK’s leading scientific and clinical research - helping more men, women and children survive.

For more pictures see pages 20 and 21.