A MARATHON session of darts will be the main attraction in a family fun day to raise money for charity.

For 24 hours, darts players from the area will take part in a game, which will start at 8.30pm tomorrow (August 2), with a family fun day on Saturday from 10am to 5pm.

Kwik Fit is holding the event at the Victoria Inn pub in Burnham in aid of Children with Cancer UK.

Customer liaison manager Paul Ablitt lives in Southminster and is heading the campaign on behalf of the company.

He said: “We decided at the beginning on the year to raise £1million for Children with Cancer UK.

“This money is to be spent on helping to build parent accommodation at the side of Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

“Children travel from all over the country to have treatment at the hospital and this means expensive hotel and travel costs for the parents, and sometimes being miles away from the hospital so it takes a while to get there if the child is having problems.

“This will allow parents to be close to their children while receiving treatment and massively improve their recovery.”

Paul said he has a personal connection to the issue as several of his family members have had cancer and his niece has a heart condition, which means her parents stay in nearby accommodation.

He added: “There have been so many events added, it’s spiralled out of control.

“It’s been amazing, the support from the community has been absolutely amazing.

“We would like to thank everyone who has been involved helping to make this event possible.

“A special thank you Toni-Ann, landlady of the Victoria Inn, for letting us hold the charity event and Steph Hume – without their help, I would be lost.

“Thank you to everyone who have donated we really do appreciate it.”

The campaign started in January and the company has far raised more than £350,000.

The daytime event at the weekend includes a barbecue from noon, raffle and F1 car simulator. There is live music by Jaime Leigh Nelson on Friday night.

Members of the public can join the darts marathon for a £10 donation. For more details, call the pub on 01621 783585.