STAFF at Douglas Park Nursery are walking tall after raising more than £3,000 for much-needed renovations through a virtual kilt walk.

The energetic bunch walked 23 miles from the nursery to Ardrossan and back again to raise funds for a new floor in the building.

Nursery manager Lynsey Gray said it was a struggle at times but the surprise appearances along the route of children from the nursery spurred them on.

She said: “It went really well. We had a few aches and pains in the couple of days afterwards but I think we’re all recovered now.

“The hardest part was the last few miles because it started pouring with rain, but we were lucky because it was dry until that point.

“We had a lot of children meeting us along the route and some came to see us in the morning before we left, it felt like they were really behind us.

“Their support really kept our spirits up and made the challenge much easier to complete."

The big-hearted team completed the challenge in just over seven hours, with each member walking around 55,000 steps.

With more than £2,000 raised in donations, the team will have an extra £1,000 added on by the kilt walk organisers, giving the refurbishment drive a boost of around £3,000.

Lynsey says the total is more than the staff ever expected and have extended their thanks to all those who donated to the cause.

She said: “We are delighted with the amount of money raised so far, and we’ve still got some offline donations to add to the total as well.

“Our original target was £1,000 so to get more than double that is amazing, we never thought for a minute we would raise so much.

“If there are any leftover funds we will put it towards parties for the children later in the year, if we are allowed, and we might also buy different bits and bobs for the nursery.

“We would just like to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported our challenge, it will make a big difference to the youngsters and the fabric of the building."