Cambridge Half Marathon donates 20 bags of clothing left after the race

The event organisers filled 20 one-tonne sacks with jumpers, hats and other clothing items

Items discarded by runners before and during a half marathon have been donated to homeless charities.

About 13,000 runners took part in the Cambridge Half Marathon on Sunday, and after the event organisers filled 20 one-tonne sacks with jumpers, hats and other clothing items.

The event has been donating any abandoned clothing to charities for the past six years to prevent waste.

Organisers said that runners know that any items left were "doing some good".

Adam Moffat, the event director of the Cambridge Half Marathon, said any race at this time of year sees high volumes of clothes left behind once runners have warmed up, and organisers did not want to see them go to waste.

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For the past six years the event has advertised the donations to runners, who were asked to throw any unwanted items into the large tonne bags that sit at each start gate.

Mr Moffat said: "It's recognising that it's going to happen, runners need to stay warm before the race and things are going to be discarded. How can we make what could be a negative thing into a positive?"

The Cambridge Half Marathon said it is inevitable that there will be excess food from the event, but does not want any of it to be wasted

"The runners at the Cambridge Half know their discarded clothes are going to charity, they know whatever they leave is doing some good," he added.

The items were collected by a team of 20-30 people after the race and were taken to the charities on Monday.

All the clothing from the event has gone to the Cambridge homeless charity Emmaus, where some items will be given to rough sleepers and the rest will be sold to raise funds for the charity.

Donna Talbot, the chief executive at Emmaus, said: "The Cambridge half is a fantastic event in its own right and for us to receive the jumpers and other items left by the runners is absolutely fantastic."

"The funds raised will be really key to help us support people who are homeless, at risk of homelessness or are experiencing poverty or low income."

Other leftover items, including food, have been donated to local homeless charities such as Winter Comfort and Jimmy's.

Unused medals have been given to the Cambridge City Council, who have previously used them when it has organised running challenges within schools.