LADIES from Beith Weight Watchers have raised around £1,000 with a 10k sponsored walk in honour of one of their late members.

Mary Lawrie, who was a helper with the group for 15 years, passed away recently after a short battle with liver disease.

In Mary’s memory, her friends at Beith Weight Watchers walked along the cycle track from Kilbirnie to Lochwinnoch to raise money for the British Liver Trust.

Florence McGarvey, leader of Beith Weight Watchers, told the Herald: “In June one of my helpers of 15 years, Mary, sadly died. She was a very caring person and very friendly. She was just lovely. We decided to do a sponsored walk in her memory and to try and raise money for the disease she passed away from.”

Nine walkers took part in the fundraiser on Sunday, September 18, including members of the Weight Watchers group, Mary’s daughter Jane Hay, and one of the members’ 12-year-old daughter. Mary’s husband Willie was also at the event cheering the ladies on for support.

Florence, who works as a nurse at Crosshouse, added: “We didn’t train for it, we just did it! I was really worried because I had recently been off work with a chest infection but thankfully I was able to do it.

“We wanted to raise as much as we could. People have still got sponsor sheets to hand in but I’m reckoning we’ve raised about £1,000.” You can find the groups’ Just Giving pages at www.justgiving.com/teams/wwbeith.