A young woman and her sister have raised more than £1,000 for a leading cancer charity.

Alexandra Wood, 28, of Studio Way, Borehamwood, completed the 5K course in Delamere Forest, Cheshire, alongside her sister Samantha Wood, 35, on Sunday, May 18.

The sisters were inspired to take part in the race by their mother’s current battle with cancer.

Their original aim was to raise £500 for Cancer Research UK. However, the sponsorship soon started to roll in and the women more than doubled their target amount with a current total of £1,186.

Alexandra said: “We really enjoyed taking part in the Race for Life. It was a really hot day and the course was difficult, but we gave it our all to fight back against cancer and to make our mum proud.

“When we began our fundraising we never imagined we would be able to raise in excess of £1,000, so we are absolutely over the moon with that. We’d like to thank each and every person who sponsored us.”

Samantha, who lives in North Wales, not far from where the event was held, said: “We decided to take part in this event to raise vital funds for Cancer Research UK - a charity extremely close to our hearts as our mum is currently bravely battling against the disease.

“Hundreds of people turned out to take part or to show their support and seeing the signs on people’s backs makes you realise just how many people this awful disease affects.

“The support we have received from our family and friends has been amazing. We can’t thank them enough.”

If you would like to sponsor the sisters, visit www.justgiving.com/SamandZand2014