REGULARS at a Tyldesley pub have been busy raising thousands of pounds for a brewery’s charity appeal.

Laura Valentine, aged 26, raised £4,645.75 by running the Manchester marathon, while sisters Marie Hupton and Leanne Stevens raised £2,263.63.

Marie, aged 31, and 34-year-old Leanne, shaved their hair earlier this year in support of their mum Betty Waterworth, who underwent treatment for breast cancer at The Christie.

“I had been treated for cancer at The Christie and they looked after me really well. Now I’ve got the ‘all clear’,” said 56-year-old Betty.

The money has been doubled to £14,218.76 by the Peter Kershaw Trust and Edward Holt Trust as part of an appeal by Joseph Holt brewery to raise £300,000 for The Christie.

The brewery is raising the money for a Joseph Holt reception wing, to be built in 2015 to mark 100 years since Edward Holt started fundraising in 1914 to build the Holt Radium Institute, which later merged with The Christie.

Customers at The Half Moon Inn have supported the fundraising efforts of Laura, Leanne and Marie, who are all regulars at the pub.

Half Moon landlord Bryn Jones is proud of the trio and his supportive customers.

Richard Kershaw, chief executive of the Joseph Holt brewery, was full of praise for the women’s efforts and the customers’ support.

Recently back from a 1,123-mile cycle ride around northern Europe, during which he raised £30,000 for the centenary appeal, he said: “I was never off the bike for two weeks – I haven’t been back on it since.

"I think it’s a lot easier to go on a bike ride than run a marathon or have a head shave. Their fundraising is phenomenal.”