THE national fundraising fiesta that is Sport Relief takes place later this month, and the organiser of the West Devon event is hoping people will dig out their running shoes for charity.

David Hocking of Lydford has raised around £30,000 in the three years he has been running Sport Relief in Okehampton — and this year's event on Sunday, March 25 is shaping up to be bigger and better than ever.

David said: 'Everything is going fantastically well at the moment. We always get fantastic support from Okehampton College, Simmons Park, the town council and Okehampton United Charities, and the people of the town.

'It is a fantastic community event, and we are so lucky to have the likes of Stuart Lord and OCRA helping us organise everything.

'We hope as many people as possible come along and support a fantastic event, and have a lot of fun.'

West Devon Olympic hopeful and Commonwealth Games medallist Georgina Geikie will officially start the Okehampton mile, and a number of local organisations will have attractions in Simmons Park on the day.

The Sport Relief challenge will take place in the grounds of Okehampton College and Simmons Park. The running route will be a flat circular route, and participants can register to run one mile, three miles or six miles. The runs will take place at 11am, noon, 2pm and 3pm. Registration is at 10am with the day finishing at 5pm.

David is also looking for some fun runners in fancy dress to add colour to the mile run.

He said: 'I know it's been a tough year for businesses and everyone in the town, but I'd love to see some of the Okehampton businesses organise teams and take part in fancy dress.

'If we could get a team dressed up as Mrs Brown's Boys, I would be over the moon.

'We also want to see as many children and adults in fancy dress to add a bit of fun to the day, as it is about having fun for a great cause. Sport Relief supports a lot of charities that often don't get mentioned in the build-up to the event, and every penny will help them.

'Disadvantaged people across the UK and in poor countries, the elderly, and many different groups of people are helped by Sport Relief, and it really is an amazing thing.'

To register for Sport Relief in Okehampton this year, go to the website http://www.sportrelief.com">www.sportrelief.com

Individuals, clubs, organisations or charities who would like any other information about taking part in the event should call David Hocking on 07899 916959.