MORE than 600 Santas delivered an early Christmas present of £15,000 to Little Havens Children’s Hospice yesterday.

They were taking part in the hospice’s first ever Santas on the Run event to raise money for the charity.

Contestants got dressed up and then raced around a one-kilometre track in the grounds of Little Havens, in Daws Heath Road, Thundersley. They were all sponsored for their efforts.

“It was a fantastic day and we are delighted by how well it went,” said Little Havens event organiser Cerena Hill. “To see hundreds of people dressed as Santa running across the grounds was fantastic and there was an excellent atmosphere too.

“We had people of all ages and ability taking part and, although we are still waiting for exact details on sponsorship, we hope to raise £15,000, which is brilliant especially as this is the first year we’ve done this.

“We’re very grateful to everyone who has helped make this so successful. It was sponsored by Foresters which was great and we had help from Basildon ATC and Basildon College with the marshalling.”

A number of families took part in the fun run, which consisted of a minimum of three and a maximum of five laps.

Among the runners was Pete Collier, 54, from Eastwood, who completed the course alongside a number of his friends.

He said: “It was very well organised and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It was certainly a lot of fun and you don’t get many races like this. There was such a wide range of people taking part including young children in pushchairs being joined by their grandparents.

“And it’s all for such an excellent cause.”