A HOSPICE has launched its biggest fundraising event of the year.

St Cuthbert’s Hospice, in Durham City, will hold its Midnight Walk for 2013 on Saturday, June 8.

The women-only walk sees hundreds of ladies walk 10km through Durham City starting at St Leonard’s playing fields at midnight.

This year’s, the seventh, will have a 1980s theme, celebrating the hospice’s foundation in 1988.

Since being established in 2007, the walk has raised more than £400,000 for the hospice.

Laura Barker, the hospice’s development manager, said: “The Midnight Walk has always been a very special event for us here at St Cuthbert’s Hospice but this year even more so.

“It’s a chance for us to celebrate with the local community and recognise what they have helped to achieve by supporting the development of the hospice over the last 25 years.

“Income raised through events like the Midnight Walk means St Cuthbert’s can continue to provide its vital free of charge services to the whole of north Durham for many more years to come.”

Registration for the Midnight Walk is open now, for all women and accompanied girls aged over 12. Entry costs £10 and walkers are encouraged to collect sponsorship. For more information, call Lily Axworthy on 0191-386-1170 or visit stcuthbertshospice.com