KAREN Beaver and her son Luke had a few blisters after raising £2,150.53 for a Taunton-based cancer charity - they were sponsored to walk 60 miles over five days along the Great Wall of China.

Their contribution was part of the £3,303.07 raised last week for the County Gazette-backed Somerset Unit for Radiotherapy Equipment (SURE), which buys items for the Beacon Centre at Musgrove Park Hospital.

Other donations included £438 from Taunton Unison Retirement Social Club on the closure of the club, which had raised £2,725 for SURE over the years, mainly by collecting 5p coins.

Other donations of 5p coins included an anonymous gift of £24.50; £40 from Bridgwater Blake Probus Club; £40 from Darren Dilloway, of North Curry; £30 from Maurice Hutchings and family; £12.50 from Creech St Michael WI; The Beacon Centre contributed £142.96, mostly in 5ps, while £101.50 left there included £75.40 from Blagdon Retirement Village.

There was £72.95 from a talk by Bernard Spilsbury to the Active Living Group, at Bridgwater.

Collection pots totalled £33.51 from Cartridge World, in Taunton's East Street; £5.01 from Bridge News, Bath Place; £18.41 from Bishop's Hull Constitutional Club; £48 from Tesco Express, North Petherton; and £9.70 from Wembdon Stores and Post Office.

Other pots brought in £3.44 from Tesco Express, at Priorswood; £26.46 from Trull Stores; £2.39 from the Winchester Arms, Trull; and £103.01 from Changes Hairdressers, in Monkton Heathfield.

This week's donations mean a grand total of £669,597.55 has been raised for SURE since the charity linked up with the County Gazette.