BREAST cancer survivor Julie Riley took the weight off her feet in a fire engine before embarking on a fundraising marathon later this month.

North Yorkshire nurse Christine Carpenter surprised onlookers by pounding local streets in her underwear in preparation for the same event.

Both Julie, 45, from Tadcaster, and Christine, also 45, from Helperthorpe, near Malton, are taking part in the Playtex Moonwalk in London on Saturday, where participants walk 26 miles through the night dressed in decorated bras.

Said Christine: "When else could I walk through London dressed only in my bra?"

Julie joined forces with York firefighters, including her husband, Richard, to stage a fundraising race night at the Clifford Street station. The money raised from the event was split between the Fire Service Benevolent Fund and a breast cancer charity.

Julie said cancer had sadly been a major part of her family's life, with her mother and aunt dying of a different form of cancer and her husband's aunt and mother being diagnosed with breast cancer recently.

She said: "There are three of us in the family who have had breast cancer very recently.

"I had a lumpectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. My hair is growing back and I'm on tablets now for five years

"I've had rather a traumatic two or three years and, I just felt that I needed to give something back."

Julie is completing the Moonwalk with 16 other people, and all of them are decorating their bras with elaborate pink roses.

She has been training hard and recently completed a 20-mile training walk.

Meanwhile, Christine has been pounding the streets of surrounding villages and towns during her three months' training.

The nurse, who works for York homecare company Careforce, in James Street, said: "The thought of walking through London in the middle of the night in my bra appeals to me. When else could you do it without getting arrested?

"I'm doing it because I'm a nurse and in the past I've looked after people with breast cancer and I've had friends and colleagues who have had it, and most of them are alive and well. I also had my own little scare a few years ago."

The event is organised by charity Walk The Walk, which will give the cash to Breakthrough Breast Cancer and The Bristol Cancer Help Centre.

Updated: 10:48 Tuesday, June 14, 2005