THE Valley, in Evesham, was awash with the colour red as hundreds of Christmas-spirited folk dashed to the business park resplendent in Santa outfits.

The occasion was the inaugural Santa Dash on Sunday where the cold and damp weather failed to put a damper on festivities.

The dash has been organised and hosted in partnership with St Richard's Hospice and witnessed more than 300 Santas young and old in outfits of all sizes brave the conditions to tackle the multi-terrain 5K run in aid of the charity which is expected to have raised thousands of pounds.

Several local retailers got involved too.

The Valley centre manager Maria Hughes said it was a 'monumental morning at The Valley for the St Richard’s Hospice Santa Dash', and said it was humbling to see so many people making the effort for such a great cause.