A PARK was awash with hundreds of little pirates and princesses this weekend, as they joined forces to raise money for the town's hospitals.

At the first ever charity 'Walk the Park' and fun day, for the new Whiston and St Helens Hospitals' Charity, the sun was shining down on the park as the youngsters had plenty of fun raising money.

Boys and girls of all ages took on the challenge of the climbing wall, tried their hand at archery and crawled through a spooky cave before tucking into doughnuts and candy floss.

Rugby league legend and charity patron, Paul Sculthorpe MBE, and Radio City 2 DJ, Claire Simmo, Saints mascot Boots and Captain Tuck from Healthy St Helens joined an energetic warm-up led by the team from The Village Hotel in Whiston, before the start of the charity walk.

A spokeswoman from St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said: "All money raised for the hospital's charity will go towards buying new equipment, providing extra special therapies and brightening the lives of all the patients.

"Congratulations to everyone who completed the walk and a huge 'thank you' for taking part and raising money to make a difference to patients at Whiston and St Helens hospitals."

The event – which included a 5k walk and a 2k toddle as well as a bouncy castle, face painting and magician Paul Harding – started at 10.30am with the walk starting at noon.