A Bude family skateboarded 15 miles recently in support of Macmillan Cancer Support, but Jo Coles (one of the organisers) and Jack Cousins (a pupil at Budehaven Community School) kickstarted their charity effort early by collecting donations outside the Co-op supermarket in Bude. Jack (13) played some tunes on his guitar to entertain the shoppers.

"Quite a few people put money in the bucket if I promised not to sing!" laughed Jack. "We are very grateful to the Co-op who kindly allowed us to collect for the charity on the weekend before they closed for refurbishment," said Jo, "and the Bude shoppers were so generous too, they donated a total of £333 for Macmillan Cancer Support."

More than 150 skateboarders joined Jo and Jack on the charity skate from Bath to Bristol, most of them wearing fancy dress. Jo added: "It was great to have such a good turn-out on the day, and to see loads of rabbits, cowboys, spacemen, and pirates on skateboards, not to mention all the men in frocks! I think we raised a lot of smiles along the way, as well as about £3,500 altogether for the charity. I have a close friend who's battling cancer and I know what a great help Macmillan has been to him and his family, and that's why we made this effort."

It's not too late to donate as their JustGiving page will still be active for a while at http://www.justgiving.com/lushlongboards2010">www.justgiving.com/lushlongboards2010. This is the second fundraising skate event that Jo and Jack have organised this year. Back in April they organised a 24 hour charity skate around Dunsfold Park, the home of the Top Gear track where they were joined by 250 skaters who together raised over £17,000 for Shelterbox.