A WEEKEND of fun packed activities are planned to raise money for a North-East hospice.

Only a few tickets are remaining to see showband, The Piggies, who will start the family fun in aid of the Butterwick Hospice, at Bishop Auckland, County Durham, this weekend.

The band takes to the stage at Sunnydale Leisure Centre, Shildon, on Saturday night.

On Sunday, to start off the main fundraising event, there will be a 2.8 mile fun run, setting off from the Shildon Stadium 2000, leading the crowds to the main showground at Jubilee Fields.

Every runner will receive a commemorative medal and certificate and the winning prize for junior boy and girls is a mountain bike. Winning adults will receive £100 cash.

Both the run and the concert are a taster of what is to come on Sunday when the Jubilee Fields is the setting for a full day of fun-filled activities.

Visitors can watch a dog with the waggiest tail competition, and there will also be a charity equestrian event, classic and vintage cars, a falconry display, pipe band, stilt walkers, a magician and a host of stands.

All proceeds from the concert, run and fun day, which has been organised by the Thickley Ward Labour Group, Shildon, will go to the Butterwick Hospice.

* For concert tickets, call (01388) 777340.