A Christmas-themed celebration has been held to mark a significant milestone of an Ashby area parkrun.

Conkers parkrun celebrated its 500th event with nearly 450 participants turning up to run, jog or walk the 5km track whilst wearing their most festive fancy dress outfits.

The free event was supported by North West Leicestershire District Council with a £500 match-funded grant towards new equipment and organisation fees.

Conkers parkrun was initially set up by volunteers and NWLDC's Health and Wellbeing Team.

The community event was taken on by volunteers in 2016 who have continued to grow the group and make it a success.

Since the first parkrun on 16 April 2011, which attracted 30 participants, 12,525 more people have signed up to take part.

Conkers parkrun is a free timed weekly 5km event which takes place every Saturday at Conkers Waterside Centre at 9am.

All abilities are welcome and can find out more by emailing [email protected].

More information about NWLDC's Small Grant Scheme and how to apply can be found HERE.

Councillor Andrew Woodman, Portfolio Holder for Community Services at NWLDC, said: "Reaching the 500 milestone is a great achievement and it was a privilege to be part of the celebrations to mark the occasion.

"As someone who regularly takes part in parkruns, I've seen a huge difference in my own physical and mental wellbeing.

"These types of events have a real sense of community spirit and I would recommend getting in touch with the team to see how you too can reap the benefits."

Roger Cobb, Volunteer Co-Event Director for Conkers parkrun, said: "To make it to the 500 mark has been really rewarding for us as we see how much difference these events make to peoples' lives.

"We know that every parkrun is an achievement, but we'd like to thank our volunteers and participants for turning up each week to help us reach this milestone.

"We'd also like to thank North West Leicestershire District Council for their support and helping us to make these events better and more successful."