SWINDON CANCER APPEAL: DOGS of all shapes, sizes and sounds strained at the leash to get involved in the Evening Advertiser's Macmillan Appeal.

Some 50 pet pooches pulled their owners around a mile-long sponsored walk at The Polo Ground's Family Fun Day yesterday in the Macmile fundraising event.

The object was to help the appeal in its cause to raise £600,000 to fund two new Macmillan nurses for the Great Western Hospital and a specialist consultant in cancer care who will work at the GWH and the Prospect Hospice.

The walk coincided with a dog show run by Penny Blake, a receptionist at Drove Veterinary Surgery in County Road.

"We were only too pleased to do anything to back the appeal, it is such a worthy cause to help local people," said Penny, 39, of Nythe Road.

"We all know someone whose suffered either themselves or have had a family member suffer because of cancer. And it is not just the individual who suffers, it's family, friends and work colleagues and if we can all pull together and raise money perhaps we can make a difference."

Penny's son Robert, 13, a Dorcan Technology College pupil, did the walk with his greyhound lurchers Suggs, four, and Suki, three.

He said: "I'm hoping to raise at least £500. I asked my uncle for sponsorship and my schoolmates."

Thelma Farmer, 71, of Falmouth Grove, Lawn, took part in the event with her two-year-old mongrel dog, Jenny.

She said: "I think £600,000 is a great target to help fund the nurses, who do such good work which affects so many people. I thought that trying to raise money for them was the least I could do, and I've got about £130 at the moment, from neighbours and friends and Uplands School, where I was a welfare assistant."

Amy Gates, 14, a Dorcan Technology College pupil, of Jacobs Walk, Dorcan, was taking part in the walk with her Alsatian Max, aged one-and-a-half, a rescue dog.

Amy, who was accompanied by her pal Kara Connolly, 12, also of Jacobs Walk, said: "I think it's a good cause Max can walk for miles so there shouldn't be a problem."

For Paul McIlroy, 46, a BMW engineer of Oxford Road, Stratton, the event had a personal relevance.

He explained: "My mother died of cancer so I know how important the cause is." He did the walk with his rescue dog, three-year-old cross Murray.

Proceeds from the event will be contributed to the appeal's bank account, which already stands at £96,672.

The fun day, organised by the Rotary Club of Swindon Thamesdown, attracted thousands of people making the most of a cloudy but rain-free Bank Holiday Monday.

As well as a dog show and the Macmile walk, attractions included helicopter rides, a fun fair, kite flying, a classic motorcycle display, a car boot sale, the Air Training Corps Band and a re-enactment of an American Civil War battle courtesy of Somerset-based group Armies of the Potomac and Northern Virginia.

Rotarian Chris Keating, 52, a retired policeman who lives in Marlborough Road and who co-ordinated the day, said: "We are raising money for Polio Plus, which seeks to eradicate Polio worldwide by 2005, along with Cancer and Leukaemia in Children and the Swindon Cancer Appeal in aid of Macmillan.

"But it is not just about making money. This event is about affordable, family entertainment and good old fashioned fun."

To make a donation to the appeal online, click here.

Tell us about your fundraising event, click here.