MEDICAL students gave a national charity a great break when they pocketed more than £600 during a 24-hour snooker marathon.

The six student doctors, from Durham University's Queen's Campus, in Stockton, spent 24 hours at Riley's Pool and Snooker Club in the town, in aid of Marrow, the medical student branch of the Anthony Nolan Trust.

Elango Sathiyamoorthy, 19, said he and his friends played a lot of snooker, and fancied the challenge of playing for 24 hours.

He said that, as their first-year exams were over, they decided to arrange it and raise money for Marrow at the same time.

"It's going really well," he said, less than 12 hours into the marathon.

"We are hoping to raise £600 for Marrow between the six of us. There are two of us playing at any one time, but we are all staying here for 24 hours.

"Everyone has got tired feet at the moment, but I think we are doing okay.

"A lot of people have been dropping by to cheer us on throughout the day."

Medical students Terran Nowlan, Mike Nicholson, Philip Middleton, and Donald Servant joined Elango in the challenge, along with bio-medical student Jack Casbon.

They completed their 24-hour task, and then took to their beds for several hours to recover, having raised £612 for Marrow.