Wellingborough golfers go topless for charity calendar

Rachael Owen and Mary Phillips went topless for charity

Members of a golf club have shed their clothes for a topless calendar, with funds going to a breast cancer charity.

Wellingborough Golf Club members have been inspired by Rylstone Women's Institute, whose naked project was turned into hit film Calendar Girls.

They are hoping to raise thousands of pounds for Breast Friends.

Rachel Owen, who is the lady vice-captain of the club, said: "The girls have loved every moment - lots of giggling."

Ms Owen said: "I got my idea from a lady member who was captain for another golf club and she did the lady captain's 'charity girls' calendar and it raised lots of money.

"I thought 'if she can do it, we can do it', so I decided to crack-on and give it a whirl."

Ms Owen said some of the models were apprehensive at first "but once we'd broken the ice and a few ladies had been out and done their photo shoots, others came onboard and I had lots of people wanting to do it."

Abby Cohen took the carefully posed photos

One of the models, Liz Palmer, had breast cancer 14 years ago.

She said posing for the calendar was "no problem - you lose your inhibitions when you've been through breast cancer".

Liz Palmer's breast cancer was picked up by a mammogram

Ms Palmer was diagnosed with the disease when she went for a mammogram and doctors discovered a lump.

She returned to hospital for a check-up, and five more lumps were discovered.

"If I hadn't had that mammogram, I would've not probably been here by now," she said.

• Wellingborough golfers strip for breast charity - BBC Sounds

Ms Palmer posed with a carefully-placed umbrella for her picture, which is pencilled in for the April page of the calendar.

The ladies of Wellingborough Golf Club have big hearts

Breast Friends was started after the well-known local charity Crazy Hats ceased to operate.

Lucy Hennessy from Breast Friends charity said: "We are so, so proud to be associated with Wellingborough Golf Club, in doing this calendar that brings joy to everything, even though it's for breast cancer."