CHEERLEADERS are dressing up in bright and exuberant colours to raise money for charity.

The cheerleading troupe from Sunderland University are participating in the ‘Crazy Leg’ Challenge’ which challenges local people to fundraise for the Stand Up To Cancer charity by getting sponsored to wear outlandish clothing below their waist.

President of the Sunderland Star cheerleading group, Natalie Gray said: “We’re not shy at getting dressed up for charity and we’ve really enjoyed putting on the outfits to support this great cause.

“Many of the members of our cheerleading troupe, including myself, have friends and family who have been affected by cancer, so this is a cause close to our hearts.”

Stand Up To Cancer aims to raise money to fund vital research that will help give new and better treatment to cancer suffers.

The charity is a joint fundraising campaign from Cancer Research and Channel 4,

The campaign has already raised over £20m for charity and is also supported by numerous celebrities including Davina McCall, Alan Carr and Dr Christian Jessen.

More than one in three people are likely to develop one form of Cancer during their life at some point.

A spokesman for Cancer Research UK said: “We’d like to thank the Sunderland Stars for standing up to cancer in style.”