A RIBBLE Valley charity named one of the country's top fundraising groups has been hailed for helping make ‘enormous progress in the fight against cancer’.

The Ribble Valley and White Rose Ladies scooped a prestigious award after raising a 'staggering' £750,000 for cancer charities over the last 13 years.

Members of the group were rewarded for their hard work in funding research into childhood cancers by Cancer Research UK.

They picked up one of the highest accolades - the ‘Flame of Hope’ award - at the glittering ceremony in London for the Fundraising in the Community category.

In addition, the founder and secretary, Karen Weaving, received a special commendation for the 'toughest category of all'- Fundraising Volunteer of the Year.

To raise funds the women organsied hundreds of events over the years from clay pigeon shooting, coast to coast walks and black tie balls to Zumba classes and charity fashion shows.

The charity was founded by the former owners of the Stirk House Hotel, Gisburn, Karen Weaving and her husband, Malcolm, in 1998.

And it is still headed by Clitheroe businesswomen Irene Chenery and Carol Maher but it holds meetings at The Rendezvous Hotel, Skipton, which is now owned by the Weavings.

It now has nine members who have 100s of supporters across the area.

Mrs Weaving said: “It’s very humbling and of course a real thrill to receive awards but that’s not what we are about. We are about getting together to achieve a common goal which is to raise money to fight this dreadful disease.”

Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research UK chief executive, said “We can only make progress in our fight against cancer thanks to the dedication and commitment of volunteers and supporters like the ‘Ribble Valley & White Rose Ladies’.

The ladies were nominated for the award by Sarah McPhee, the charity’s area volunteer manager.