The fun event - scheduled for Friday, October 24 - is a fantastic way for families and friends to join forces and raise money for our £600,000 scanner appeal.

But entrants need to jump to it - with the deadline for entries fast-approaching.

Olympic tae kwon do star Sarah Stevenson and local MPs Rosie Winterton and Ed Miliband have already signed up for the Lakeside stroll which starts and ends at the Keepmoat Stadium.

And you have until next Friday to join them on the short 40-minute route and help make a big difference to the lives of thousands of people across the borough.

The Free Press has this year teamed up with the Doncaster Cancer
Detection Trust, the town's oldest cancer charity, to raise £600,000 to buy a state-of-the-art scanner for the DRI.

The equipment will enable doctors to diagnose and treat diseases like cancer more easily - helping to save hundreds of lives.

Free Press editor Graeme Huston said: "We really hope that people will use the Midnight Walk as a fun way to make money for the appeal.

"The scanner will be a huge boost for the town, the one targeted by the DCDT will be only the second of its type in the country, and there can be few people who have not been touched by diseases like cancer.

"We're making great progress with the appeal - reaching the £100,000 mark last week - and our Roll of Honour is growing all the time.

"But the Midnight Walk will be a great opportunity to raise many thousands more from sponsorship.

"We have already had dozens of people sign up for the walk at our Sunny Bar offices and we hope lots more people will get their sponsor forms before the closing date.

"The walk will not be too taxing, the route is designed to be family-friendly, and has been made possible thanks to fantastic support from the Keepmoat Stadium and the council. Our thanks go to them."

Battery-powered lanterns and light sticks will be provided to light up the Lakeside route.

Everyone who takes part will also receive a medal, in the weeks after the event, for their efforts, while prizes for the individuals, family or corporate or work teams who raise the most money will be awarded at a presentation ceremony later this year.

To register for the Midnight Walk collect a sponsor form from the Free Press office at Sunny Bar or from the Doncaster Cancer Detection Trust on East Laith Gate.

The cost of entry is £5 per person, or £10 for a group entry (maximum of four participants).

Sponsor forms can also be collected from Goose Hill Cards, Doncaster Market and Wright Investments at Carr Hill.

The closing date for registration is Friday, October 17.

What to do on the night

• Arrive at the Keepmoat Stadium for 11.30pm (car park 1).


• There will be WC facilities and somewhere to buy a coffee.


• On arrival have your sponsorship form stamped by the DCDT and collect your lantern.


• Once forms are stamped you are ready to go, the walk begins in groups on the stroke of 12.


• The walk should take around 40 minutes, when you finish return your lantern holder, the battery powered light inside it is yours to keep.


• In the weeks after the event your sponsorship forms and money raised should be returned to the DCDT shop on East Laith Gate where you will be given a receipt. Details of the prizegiving and medals will be announced in the Free Press later.