TWO young girls stopped traffic in Rudheath with a dancing fundraiser for the NHS.

Katie Hinkley, a Year 7 pupil at Rudheath Senior Academy pupil, and her friend Erin Lancaster-Burton, were so moved by the bravery of NHS staff tackling the coronavirus pandemic that they wanted to help.

Now they have raised £85 for frontline heroes by putting on a social-distanced dance show for neighbours in their street.

Katie’s Mum, Tracey, explained: “They practised for a couple of days, Katie on our drive and Erin on hers, and it was quite difficult as they had to keep their distance.

“Then they popped notes through neighbours' doors asking them to watch them at 1.30pm the following day.

“On the day, they had the music on ready and all the neighbours were out to see them dance to Lonely by Joel Corry and We Are Family by Sister Sledge.

READ>St Luke's Hospice to open for 'drive and drop' donations

“The atmosphere was lovely, everyone was clapping and smiling. Our neighbours put donations in envelopes for the girls with lovely messages thanking them. I think they were hoping to raise between £15 and £20, so to raise £85 was amazing.

“Katie raised more than £300 for the Stroke Association last year, so I feel extremely proud of her and very grateful to our lovely neighbours who helped."

Sarah Johns, Katie's teacher and head of Years 7 and 8 at Rudheath, added: “We are all really proud of her achievement.

“We pride ourselves on our students aiming to show excellence and kindness, and Katie has demonstrated this with her willingness to show her dance talents to the local community.”