Youngster James Wallek looked a little bit green - and pink and yellow - when he beat off competition from more than a thousand runners in a 5k Colour Dash for charity.

For James, nine, who lives in Harpenden, was the first to cross the finish line after tackling exploding colour cannons and colour bandits on the race through a Luton park in aid of Keech Hospice Care.

To date the runners have raised £52,850 for the hospice which supports end of life children from Herts.

James, who like the other runners set off in a pristine white t-shirt but looked decidedly more colourful by the end of the event, said: “It was good fun. One of my friend’s cousins was helped by Keech Hospice Care so he entered to support the hospice and I thought I would too. I had a brilliant time and there was lots of colour.”

Mark Relf, regional and events fundraising manager at Keech Hospice Care, said: “What can I say, it was a sell-out and we smashed last year’s amount of £37,500. We expect more money to come through so we could even hit £60,000 but we won’t know for sure until all of the sponsorship money has come in.