A HEAD teacher who beat cancer was joined by 15 friends and colleagues at the Race for Life event as they remembered loved ones killed by the disease and others still fighting it.

The 16-strong group were determined to complete the course at Glasgow Green as a show of support.

One of the women taking part was Diane Blyth, who is in charge at Inverkip Primary School.

Diane was diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2016 and following a lumpectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy she was relieved to see that her most recent mammogram in May was all clear.

She was joined by and supported by friends, family and colleagues who all took part in the event to raise money and awareness.

Joining Diane was her daughter Stephanie, who is a teacher at Aileymill Primary, and her stepson's girlfriend Karen MacLeod.

Also taking on the challenge were Alison Irvine, head teacher at Moorfoot Primary, her daughters Ashleigh and Lucy Irvine, and Mhairi Crossan, the depute head at Inverkip Primary, and Colette Wallace, head at St Michael's Primary.

Gail Connick, head at Lady Alice, was accompanied by daughters Jemma and Suzy Connick and their friend Catriona, while Mellissa Hutcheson, a teacher at Inverkip Primary, Jill Howie, a member of support staff at the school, teacher Paula McEwan and Jackie Hopkins, who works in the office at Lady Alice Primary, completed the line-up.

They were joined by thousands of other women dressed in pink to complete the 5k on a day of mixed emotions.

Diane said: “We had a lovely day together filled with lots of laughter plus we all had our sad moments.

“There was a terrific atmosphere at Glasgow Green and reading the messages on everyone’s back made us all feel very emotional.

“It was inspirational to see the huge number of females all walking and running together to raise money for Cancer Research."

Hundreds of pounds was raised for Cancer Research UK by the team, with the cash set to help scientists find new ways to treat cancers and save more lives.