THREE sisters are to take part in the toughest road race in the North of England to raise cash for charity.

Denise Gaffing, 38, and Bernadette Gaffing, 33, both of Brooklyn Road, Wilpshire, and their sister-in-law, Lesley Gaffing, 36, of Knowsley Road, Wilpshire, will take part in the, 13-mile North Run in Gateshead later this month to raise funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Society. Denise, a community nurse with the Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Primary Care Trust, has run the race four times, but this is the first time Bernadette and Lesley have taken part.

Bernadette, who works in the tourism sector in Preston, and Lesley have training hard to ensure they give Denise a run for her money.

Denise, who attended St Augustine's RC High School, Billington, said: "Bernadette and Lesley are very eager and enthusiastic, and are already running faster than me!"

The intrepid trio hope to raise hundreds of pounds in sponsorship on behalf of a family member who is a cystic fibrosis sufferer and Denise hopes to raise further cash by taking part in the London Marathon next April.

It is not the first time that the Gaffing family have taken part in daring deeds for worthy causes, for cousin Patrick Wright, 28, of Rhodes Avenue, Blackburn, is due to jump out of an aeroplane 13,500 feet above Las Vegas on Tuesday, also to raise funds for cystic fibrosis.

He has combined a holiday to Las Vegas with friends Craig Dullenty, 32, of Lammack Road, Blackburn, and Craig Gouldthorpe, 30, of Beryl Avenue, Blackburn, with the death-defying fund-raising feat.

The trio hope to return with photographic evidence of themselves strapped to an instructor freefalling over the Nevada desert.

Anyone wishing to sponsor Denise, Bernadette and Lesley, should contact Marie Gaffing, Denise and Bernadette's mum, on 01254 249182.