A sea of red as Santa dash arrives at Blackpool Promenade

Now in its ninth year, the two-mile fun run saw 1,800 people dressed as Father Christmas dashing from Sandcastle Waterpark to The Manchester pub and back to raise money for the Fylde coast’s children’s hospice.

Among those running were John and Denise McBride who had travelled from their home in Huddersfield especially for the event.Denise said: “We visit Blackpool regularly and two years ago we happened to see all these people running in red. I looked online when we got home and saw it was the Santa Dash.“We missed it last year but we were determined to make it this year. It was such a wonderful event; so much fun and lovely to be a part of.”Brian House supports the area’s most fragile children and young people with respite and end-of-life care. Each year it costs more than £1.2 million to run and receives less than £200,000 in government funding.Head of Fundraising Linzi Warburton said: “Each year Santa Dash has got bigger and better, and we are absolutely thrilled to have seen so many people on Sunday. To see many hundreds of people all in red, having a great time and doing their bit to support our work is just incredible.“Thank you to each and every single person who took part, to everyone who volunteered and the organisations which have supported us, and to our event sponsor, the Kentown Wizard Foundation. “We could not have done it without these amazing people.”