TWO members of staff of a north Durham building society have gone the extra mile – or 13 – to raise £1,000 for a local hospice.

Rachel Benford, branch manager at Newcastle Building Society's Middle Street office in the Consett, and senior customer adviser Stephen Patterson took on the challenge of the Great North Run as part of the branch team's year of fundraising for the Willow Burn Hospice in Lanchester.

Mr Patterson who was taking part in his first Great North Run, came home in just two hours and one minute , while, Ms Benford, who was running her second, managed to cover the 13.1 miles in two hours 48 minutes, despite struggling with a knee injury.

The Willow Burn Hospice offers a range of services to patients and their families in the north west Durham area, and relies on donations to meet most of its annual running costs.

It was adopted by the Consett branch team as part of The Newcastle’s ongoing Cornerstone of the Community campaign, through which individual branches provide support to organisations and good causes in their local areas.

More than £1,500 has so far been raised in total for Willow Burn, and further fundraising activities are planned through the rest of the year, with a trick or treat-themed cake sale in the branch at Halloween being next on the list.

Ms Benford said: "Being part of the Great North Run is a very special and emotional experience, and the crowds were absolutely fantastic - it was hard work on a hot day, but the support everyone gets keeps you going and we were both pretty pleased in the end with how we did.”