DANCERS put their toe-tapping skills to the test as they took part in the first ever Comic Relief Danceathon.

TK Maxx, in Darlington, became an impromptu dance floor as line dancers and belly dancers showed off their moves to raise money for Comic Relief.

The event was part of an annual fundraising initiative which has seen staff at the store take part in a number of themed days to raise money for the charity.

They have also been taking it in turns to ride as far as they can on an exercise bike in the store, cycling more than 1,000 miles so far, and have taken part in an army-style assault course in Richmond last week.

Assistant manager Lisa Mulgrew, who had a go at line dancing, said: “There were so many people watching the line dancers – about 20 or 30 people stopped their shopping to watch.

“We have had a really great response from customers to the fundraising, especially from children as they love putting money in the bucket.

“Twenty two of us from across the district also did the army assault in Richmond and it was freezing - there was three inches of snow.

“Even though we couldn’t move afterwards and were absolutely freezing, we all said we would do it again.”

TK Maxx, which has clothing stores worldwide, has so far raised more than £13.4m for Comic Relief, and staff the Darlington store have been raising as much as they can over the past six weeks.