Dance competition fundraiser 'will save lives'

Strictly Northampton has previously raised £416,000 for Cynthia Spencer Hospice in previous years

The money raised by a local dance competition would "save lives", an air ambulance charity said.

Strictly Northampton is organised by Step-By-Step dance school and sees members of the public partner with dancers for eight weeks of training.

They then perform at the town's Royal & Derngate theatre, with proceeds going to local charities.

Now in its 13th year, the £56,000 raised this time will help fund The Air Ambulance Service, which serves five counties including Northamptonshire.

Karin Keir-Bucknall said, like many other contestants, she has continued to take dance lessons since the end of the competition

The charity, which attends about 10 emergencies each day, does not receive government funding and relies solely on money from donations and fundraising.

Communications fundraiser executive - and dance contestant - Karen Hughes said: "The money everybody raised is brilliant. It will save lives."

She said taking part in the contest was "absolutely mad" and "a hell of an experience".

Fellow contestant Karin Keir-Bucknall, a business teacher at Northampton College, raised more than £1,000.

She entered having been a "keen dancer with lots of energy" all her life.

"I have always been the first one on the dance floor and the last one to leave, so this was a super experience for me," she said.

"I loved meeting new people and experiencing the joy of life."