REGISTRATION has opened for the 10th annual Midnight Walk for St Luke’s Hospice.

The hospice hopes this landmark anniversary walk will help it raise £200,000 and bring the 10-year total to an enormous £2million.

Funds raised from ladies-only walk help support St Luke’s work in caring for people from mid and south Cheshire suffering from cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.

Around 1,000 women are expected to take part and walk 13.1 miles from Reaseheath College, in Nantwich, to Crewe and back.

There is also the option of a 6.5-mile Half Moon walk.

Winsford woman Rita Birch, 54, a committed supporter of the hospice, is preparing to walk the walk for the 10th time, having raised £7,976 during the past nine years.

Rita, who owns High Street Clothing Repairs in Winsford, said: “The annual walk is a great way for women to get together and to give something back to this great cause after it has done so much for people around the area.

“My friends and I look forward to it every year as we try and beat our finish times – we have got it down to under three hours and 50 minutes.”

Rita, whose training consists of Sunday strolls in the countryside, added: “Up until recently, I had no idea how much I had raised over the past nine years and I am extremely thankful to everyone who has helped me achieve this fantastic sum of money.”

The Midnight Walk takes place on June 28.