SHAMBLING undead monsters have invaded a North-East town in pursuit of fearless charity fundraisers.

The zombie horde overran Dirty Dog Airsoft, in Shildon, in support of Butterwick Hospice Care.

The annual Butterwick Hospice Zombie Run took on an urban survival theme this year, with intrepid survivors clambering over obstacles, taking shelter in abandoned cabins, and climbing through burnt-out vehicles to finish the zombie-infested 5k course.

Zombies were played by volunteers, who did an impressive job of making themselves look terrifying.

They included volunteer zombie Kim O’Dei, who travelled more than 200 miles to take part. She said: “I’ve come from just outside London to do the Butterwick Zombie Run because my friend and her daughter are being zombies, and I just had to join in for charity.”

Each runner wore a utility belt holding three ‘life tags’ – if they lost all three to the undead horde, then the decontamination team had to step in to do their best to stop the zombie virus spreading.

Organiser Helen Kirby said: “We’ve had 130 runners, and 30 zombies chasing them. I want to thank everyone who’s come along today for taking part and raising money for the hospice, and all our wonderful volunteer marshals.

“I especially want to thank Dirty Dog Airsoft, who have provided their fantastic venue for free. It’s been a really great zombie run, and we’re hopefully going to raise over £10,000 for the Butterwick.”