THE Travellers Rest in Little Sutton will be the venue for a 24-hour darts marathon which should see one million points on the scoreboard.

It is also hoped the big event, on Saturday/Sunday, April 16/17, will raise hundreds of pounds for the Hospice of the Good Shepherd at Backford.

The first arrow will be thrown by darts professional Tony Martin, followed by the Travellers Rest ladies' darts team, bar staff and pub regulars.

There will also be some professional help during the marathon from England players Tony O'Shea and Steve Bunting.

There will be a raffle and auction throughout the event and the ladies' team is asking everyone to support them by making donations in the pub.

Team members will also be asking people to help them before the event by sponsoring every set of darts they throw.

Captain Gwen Wale has the hard job of keeping everyone awake during the 24 hours, which will include getting people to do various exercises throughout the marathon.

Gwen said: 'This is our eighth darts marathon for charity and we thought it would be a great idea for a local cause to benefit this year, so we all chose the Hospice of the Good Shepherd.'

Travellers landlord Terry Sharpe has agreed to provide refreshments for the participants but points out that the pub is only open for business during normal licensing hours.

Amanda Le Bretton, the hospice's fundraising team leader, said: 'I hope our local community will support these wonderful people who are giving up a night's sleep for our charity.'

Anyone wishing to sponsor the ladies' darts team can contact Amanda on 0151 355 5727, or call in to the Travellers Rest and have a chat with the bar staff.