THE 2014 Great Skipton Santa Run raised a record £40,000.

The event - organised by Skipton Craven Rotary Club - was first held in 2010 and since then has raised more than £113,00 for local charities.

And last year's runners brought in £40,020 - £10,000 more than 2013, which was itself a record year.

Rotary president Ken Lee: said: "Thanks go to runners, sponsors, volunteers and organisers for their fantastic support.

"The fun run heralds the start of Christmas activities in Craven and this year we hope to raise more record amounts for the charities nominated by all those participating."

Last year there were three main charities - Manorlands, Yorkshire Air Ambulance and Airedale Hospital’s Emergency Department Appeal - but more than 30 other charities also benefited.

Donations to Manorlands totalled £17,446, with one group of runners, Minty's Army, raising more than £4,000. They were running in memory of Cononley man Jason Kendall, who died in November at the age of 45.

Manorlands fundraisers Rachel Cunningham and Debra Chalmers said: "We have been involved in this fantastic event since year one and we are delighted to see it going from strength to strength. The funds raised will allow us to continue providing our incredible care, both at Manorlands and within the local community."

Yorkshire Air Ambulance received a donation of £5,659.

YAA volunteer Melanie Devine said: "We thought the fun run was one of the best events we have attended all year and it was a wonderful example of community involvement and great fun. It will enable the air ambulance to continue to serve the people of Yorkshire."

A further £3,260 went to the Airedale Hospital Emergency Department Appeal, the chosen charity of Mr Lee.

Picking up the cheque, Dr Meg Crossley said: "The new emergency department is everything we had hoped it would be. The facilities for children and their parents are fantastic and by keeping children relaxed and happy they are much easier to assess. Our dementia friendly rooms are helping reduce stress and anxiety for these vulnerable patients.

"This donation takes our appeal total over the £100k target and enables us to buy cardiac monitoring equipment, so that every patient who needs it can have immediate access to state-of-the-art monitoring.

"From a personal perspective the fun run was fantastic and I cannot wait to run again this year.”

The 2015 event will take place on November 29 and details will be posted on the dedicated website skiptonsantafunrun.com