A RECORD 1,644 runners braved the appalling weather on Sunday to take part in the sixth Skipton Santa Fun Run, organised by Skipton Craven Rotary Club.

Young and old, from as far afield as Beverley, ran, jogged, walked or were helped round the five-kilometre course.

At 11am, dressed in festive Santa and rain gear, participants left Aireville Park and headed towards the town centre. Spectators cheered on runners, who ran for fun or to raise money for their chosen charities.

Main beneficiaries will be Sue Ryder Manorlands, Yorkshire Air Ambulance, Yorkshire Cancer Research and Rotary charities.

Many runners had very personal reasons for selecting a specific charity - for example, Bev Newton and friends ran again for Manorlands which cared for her brother, Jason 'Minty' Kendall, in his final weeks and Wharfedale RFC under 11s team raised money for Candlelighters as a show of support for teammate Tom Slater, who was diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer last year.

Rotarian John Eddison, chairman of the run organising committee, said: "We couldn't have done this without support from many organisations and individuals including Craven District and Skipton Town Councils and the management at Aireville Park.

"We are grateful for the sponsorship from many local businesses to help defray our event costs so money raised can go direct to charity. We thank all the runners, those who pledged to support them and all the club's members, their partners and families who helped.

"We request those raising sponsorship for their own choice of charity to drop an email to admin@skiptonsantafunrun.co.uk with the total amount raised and which charity it was for. For those raising money for one of our nominated charities please forward the sponsorship money to us once collected to the address on our website skiptonsantafunrun.com by January 31."

Skipton Craven Rotary Club president John Utley added: "Virtually all monies raised will stay in Yorkshire."

Yorkshire Cancer Research representative Louise Robinson, said: "We're delighted Skipton Craven Rotary have chosen to support us through this fun family event and thank all the runners who braved the weather."

And Helen Gowans, for Yorkshire Air Ambulance, said "We are incredibly grateful to Skipton Craven Rotary for their continued support for YAA. We are busier than ever before and rely on charitable donations to provide our life-saving service."

In the run-up to Christmas Rotary will continue raising funds for charities through nightly Santa Sleigh collections in Skipton and surrounding villages , at the Dickensian festival in Grassington, and at local supermarkets.