Runners came out to support Dorset County Hospital by running the Dorchester Sunflower Stride.

The evening event saw runners take on a 5k or 10k run through the Dorset Sunflower Trail and on to Maiden Castle.

The Sunflower Trail donates a considerable sum each year to the Dorset County Hospital's (DCH) emergency and critical care appeal.

This year's Sunflower Stride was opened by renowned journalist and Cerne Abbas resident Kate Adie.

She said: “So lovely to see all the runners support the emergency and critical care appeal in such an amazing setting of the sunflowers."

Hazel Hoskins organises the trail every year which was set up to raise money for the hospital.

The first year that the sunflower trail opened marked the 18th birthday of her eldest son who was born at just 26 weeks and spent two and a half months in the Special Care Baby Unit at DCH.

Hazel and her husband Richard donated an amazing £15,400 from last year’s sunflower trail to the SCBU unit at DCH, bringing the overall amount that they have raised for the unit since 2021 to nearly £47,000.

Hazel added: “We are absolutely amazed by the enthusiasm of the running community and the Support of the Sunflower Stride at the Dorset Sunflower Trail, the amazing sunflower outfits were lovely to see”