THE Stars Appeal held its annual Walk for Wards on Sunday - but with a difference.

Coinciding with the NHS’s birthday, the charity encouraged its supporters to organise socially distanced walks and get sponsored as they usually would, to help raise funds for Stars Appeal projects that support patients and NHS staff.

From 3k walks around Old Sarum to 5k dog walks, or even 10k walks taking in the grounds of the cathedral, supporters of the charity did not disappoint.

Senior nurse on Britford Ward and Stars Appeal ambassador Sister Clare Holbrooke-Jones, who took part in her own walk with her family near her home in Bournemouth said: “We are so grateful to everyone who Walked for Wards this year and it was brilliant to see the many different walks taking place across the hospital’s catchment area and beyond.

"The projects the Stars Appeal funds makes such a difference to both our patients and to NHS staff like me and my colleagues, and at a time when so much of our fundraising can’t take place, it’s wonderful that Walk for Wards was able to continue.”

The event was sponsored by Salisbury Reds.