STAFF at a North-East factory staged a madcap fundraising day to help a young mother get urgent medical treatment.

Flymo in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, encouraged staff and suppliers to don large orange noses to raise both a smile and some money for a worthwhile cause.

All proceeds from the day, reckoned to be more than £1,000, will help Ann Teasdale pay for medical treatment in the US for the rare condition Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome (RSDS).

Mrs Teasdale has already had one leg amputated and faces losing the other unless the treatment from Texas-based Dr Donald A Rhodes is successful.

The appeal has already raised £20,000 for the initial treatment, which started two weeks ago.

All Flymo staff and on-site visitors at the Newton Aycliffe head office on Tuesday were invited to pick orange noses to wear for the day.

Those who refused or were too vain had to make a bigger contribution and the company has also been speaking to its suppliers and retailers for support and donations.

Andrew MacKay, Flymo's UK marketing manager, said: "Of course, there was a serious side to Orange Nose Day.

"Aside from giving staff the opportunity to have some fun, we know that they were happy to donate generously to an appeal that requires urgent support from its local community."

Flymo placed humiliating posters of well-known staff in various nose guises all around the site.