PEOPLE who took part in Teesside's Great Hip and Knee Walk presented £15,000 to hospital staff.

Hundreds of people stepped out for the fundraising event in June.

Half the proceeds will be spent on local orthopaedic projects, with the remainder going to The Wishbone Trust, a charity supporting medical research projects in universities, hospitals and medical centres.

Patient Jane Wintrell, who has had two knee replacements and finger, shoulder and elbow replacements, presented the cheque to staff at Middlesbrough General Hospital.

The 66-year-old, who took part in the walk, said: "You could say I've had a few operations over the years but without them, I would have been crippled."

Most of the fundraisers on the one-mile walk in Middlesbrough's Stewart Park were patients with joint replacements.

The hospital's chief of service for trauma, John Anderson, said: "I would like to thank everyone who made this event such a success. We had a magnificent response."