AIRMEN staged a mass break-out from jail and went on the run - all in the name of charity.

The eight "convicts" took a runner from Northallerton Prison and raised more than £1,000 for Cancer Research UK.

In two-man teams, they had just 24 hours to get as far away as possible using only the goodwill of the people they met - and their powers of persuasion.

The airmen, all from the aircraft maintenance flight at RAF Leeming, managed to cover hundreds of miles in their allotted time.

One pair, Mark Mowforth and Graham Drury, managed to get as far as Tenerife, while Tony Brudenell and David Brieley made it as far as Barcelona.

Dale Jacques and Joseph Mathison made it across the Channel to Calais, and Steve Smith and Dave Trenholm reached as far as Dover.