Nurse makes dress from cancer support group ties

A nurse surprised patients in a prostate cancer support group by turning up to their Christmas party in a ball gown made out of ties they donated. Caroline Gallacher is a MacMillan nurse who has worked at Kettering General Hospital in Northamptonshire for the last 18 years and often makes her own clothes. She asked her patients for their old ties for what she said was a "clothing enterprise" and received nearly 200 of them.

"Thankfully the way the ties went fitted my shape - I'm not sure what that says about the ties or my shape," she said.

'People were amazed'

The Kettering and District Prostate Cancer Support Group meets every month and held its Christmas party last week.

Mrs Gallacher decided to make something to wear and her husband Nigel donated a few ties, but she contacted committee member Mike Doherty to ask the 40 members for old ties.

She told BBC Radio Northampton: "I'd been on the internet and had seen a dress and thought I would quite like to make a skirt, but then when I got so many I thought, no, we'll have a go at a ball gown.

"I was being poked all evening - they were going round saying, 'that was mine, I wore that for that wedding, I wore that for work'."

Mr Doherty said the nurse had not told him or other members what she planned to do with the ties.

He said: "People were amazed when she walked into our Christmas party wearing the ball gown – you could say we were tongue-tied."

The Christmas party raised £130 for the support group and Mrs Gallacher plans to wear the dress at promotional events for prostate cancer and the support group.