LIVES will be saved thanks to the the tireless work of a group of volunteers who have raised more than £5,000 over the course of a year.

The team of fundraisers started up in June last year, in a bid to accelerate vital research being carried out by the British Heart Foundation.

They have since raised £5,078 through organising a host of fundraising activities, including keeping the beloved annual Barrow/Walney walk alive.

Read more: Barrow heart nurses walk for charity

Read more: Inspiring Barrow woman raises £25k for heart charity

The 14th event, which took place in September, was the first to have been organised since the charity’s previous BHF branch retired in 2014.

Read more: Barrow branch of heart charity to disband

Thanks to the new group of volunteers, those committed to supporting cardiac research were able to continue taking part in the popular five- and 12-mile walks.

Jill Probert, a member of the Barrow BHF Fundraising Group, said: “It’s been great supporting the British Heart Foundation for the past year. We are delighted to have already raised more than £5,000 in the fight for every heartbeat to fund vital research.”

The Barrow group is one of more than 200 fundraising teams across the UK representing the BHF in the local community.

As well as running large-scale events such as the Barrow/Walney walk, they host collections and aim to support schools and local businesses by spreading the word about the work of the charity.

Every penny the Barrow team raised helps fund new discoveries, discover new treatments, and fund vital local equipment used in the battle against heart disease.

Barbara Dunn, BHF fundraising manager for the South Lakes, said: “We’re incredibly grateful to Barrow Fundraising Group for supporting us over the last year. Their incredible energy and enthusiasm is helping us win the fight against heart disease, and we would like to say a huge thank to them for raising so much already.

“There are around seven million people in the UK living with heart and circulatory disease and thanks to the group that we’ll be able to fund even more research into these conditions.”