SCENES of Carry on Nurse, The French Connection and The Italian Job were included in a crime caper which was released in Christchurch yesterday morning when more than 30 charity fundraisers staged their own Great Escape in Trains, Planes and Automobiles.

Teams dressed in broad arrow prison garb and shackled with ball and chain made their early morning jailbreak from the recreation ground opposite Christchurch Police Station with the goal of grabbing loads of loot for the Royal Bournemouth Hospital's Jigsaw appeal.

While one team was given parole to steal a march by starting from Bournemouth Airport bound for Dublin, seven other quartets fled hot foot or got on their bikes to escape as far as possible within 12 hours.

Ante-post favourites for the furthest travelled award were the Wee Escape-pees team from Bournemouth hospital's urology department - heading for Italy, but Milan rather than Pisa.

Christchurch Hospital nurses the Bedpan Belles were public enema number one as they made their way by private plane to France along with fellow Channel-hoppers from the Furzey Ward at Poole Hospital.

Stapehill Mafioso, caught between Iraq and a hard place in their orange Guantanomo overalls, were among a bicycle chain gang alongside the Barge Bad Boys from Little Canford and accountants Princecroft hoping their pedal rather than pen-pushing would not prove too taxing.

The cortege of Co-op Criminals from the funeral parlour in Bargates was sentenced to deathly slow progress, making their grave escape at walking pace while collecting donations in lieu of flowers.

Jigsaw appeal organisers hope the jailbreak will raise some £5,000 for improvements to the oncology and haematology wards at the hospital.

Results and more pictures in Monday's Daily Echo.