Pooches braved sweltering heat to raise hundreds of pounds for a children's cancer charity.

Five dogs and their owners walked along the old railway line from Braintree to Rayne and back to raise cash for the Joshua Foundation.

The charity was set up to help terminally-ill youngsters with cancer, by organising dream holidays and other ways of relieving their suffering.

Injury forced poor pooch Dodi to drop out at the last minute.

But Spice, Toby, Max, Clyde and Bo completed the ten-mile trek to raise more than £360.

"It went marvellously," said Margaret Pearton, whose 13-year-old springer spaniel Bo was the oldest dog on the walk.

"All the dogs were brilliant. It was very hot, but we stopped a couple of times to give the dogs a drink." when they started to pant a bit.

"We did pick up a stray and he walked some of the way with us, but we finally managed to lose him."

All the walkers got a certificate and the dogs were given rosettes saying they had walked ten miles for the Joshua Foundation.

A street collection is being held for the charity in Braintree town centre on Saturday.

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