A recent or pingpongathon in Gloucestershire raised over £700 for Christian Aid.

The 12 hour table tennis marathon which took place at the Sawyer Hall at Christchurch, Nailsworth on May 12, raised a total of £709 for the charity.

Organiser Rev Stuart Radford, who has now become known as as the Ping Pong Priest said: "More than 80 people took part to help raise this excellent total for the relief work of this worthwhile charity."

Reverend Radford swapped his walking boots,-usually he holds an annual sponsored walk, for trainers for this year’s fundraising event.

Stuart said: “We have organised a sponsored walk in previous years but thought we would try something different and, as we have a table tennis club that meets at Christ Church every Friday from 5pm to 6pm, we decided to build on that."

The day-long event was accompanied by a coffee morning, a soup lunch and tea all in support of this year’s Christian Aid Week, which took place from May 13-19.

Last year Gloucestershire supporters raised £142,000 for Christian Aid over the course of the week.

This year's range of events include Big Brekkies, house to house collections, quizzes and other ideas hosted by churches and local groups.