KIND-HEARTED firefighters have raised hundreds of pounds for children's hospice Claire House.

A team challenged itself to a dragon boat race in a bid to boost funds for the Bebington-based hospice.

The event, which took place at Liverpool Water Sports Centre, was made up of four races with 12 teams taking part in total.

And following completion of the gruelling challenge, a cheque for almost £500 was handed over to Claire House.

Michelle Rasdale, who took part in the dragon boat racing, said: "We are still collecting money on JustGiving but wanted to hand over what we have raised before the end of the year.

"A massive thank you to everyone who has sponsored us so far and to the team for working so hard on the day.

"We did surprisingly well considering we only had 15 members in our boat. We came third in our heat and had a lot of fun whilst raising money for a really worthwhile cause."

Jayne Dixon, senior event fundraiser at Claire House, said: "The day was brilliant once the racing was underway.

"All the teams supported each other well and we had plenty of banter. It all started out pretty low key for the first race and then teams started to get really competitive by the second and third race which created a great atmosphere for the final.

"Claire House relies heavily on the community for support with events and we would sincerely like to thank everyone for taking part, spectating or sponsoring the teams – we couldn’t do it without you. Roll on 2013."

The address for donations is www.justgiving.com/TeamMerseyFire