MEMBERS of the public marvelled as nearly 40 superheroes abseiled down a church tower in Bournemouth to raise over £7,500 for a cancer charity.

St Peter's Church, on Hinton Road, played host to the charity fundraiser for CLIC Sargent, which supports children and young people who have been diagnosed with cancer.

Batman, Superman, Power Rangers, Robin Hood, Wonder Woman and The Incredibles were just of the alter-egos that people from as far as Southampton and the Isle of Wight donned to take on the challenge.

Joy Morley, community fundraising manager for CLIC Sargent, said: "We had 39 people taking part. I'm ecstatic at how well it went and everybody chose to dress up.

"It's lovely to see the amount of support that we had on Saturday. In terms of the money we have raised, we are looking at between £7,500 and £8,000."

Among the participants were a group from Bournemouth Airport, based in Hurn, whose collective fundraising total is around £1,200 with donations coming from staff, their friends and family.

Julie Hudson, who works as catering manager at the airport, said: "Manchester Airports Group, which operates Bournemouth Airport, have chosen CLIC Sargent for their charity partnership, so we want to support them.

"I suppose I have always had a passion for cancer charities, as they are close to my heart, and particularly those that help children.

"I just really enjoyed the abseil. You felt part of a team."

Andrea Vaughan, who volunteers for the RNLI, had travelled from the Isle of Wight specifically for the event. She said: "I believe in charity work and I have three children myself. I would just like to think that if they were ill that someone would do something for charity like this for them."

Roy Lock, 75, who is president of Boscombe Cliff Bowling Club, had previously spoken to Daily Echo after agreeing to take on the task dressed as a red Power Ranger.

At the time, he had said: "It's a good cause. I have a couple of grandchildren and we're very lucky that they are very healthy, but some people sadly aren't so fortunate. You can never raise enough money for them."

For more information on the charity, go to clicsargent.org.uk