ENTERPRISING judo pupils from Caversham have raised more than £1,500 in one week from their sponsored throwdown.

Members of Caversham Park Judo Club visited the Stroke Ward at the Royal Berkshire Hospital after pledging £800 to the British Heart Foundation (BHF) on Saturday.

A team of 40 budding martial artists decided to raise funds for BHF after their teacher suffered a sudden heart attack.

In just seven days the Club managed to collect donations of £1,585, with the remaining funds being donated to the Stroke Ward.

Rebecca Hembra, the mother of one of the pupils, said: "It started off as a school project where they had to research charities and decide which one to raise money for.

"Because of the personal connection behind both charities, in the end it was an easy decision. The granddad of one of the boys had a heart attack recently and another one had a nan in the Stroke Ward.

"We decided to do a sponsored judo throwdown, which meant every child had to take donations. We were amazed by the fundraising campaign. We collected three-times what we were hoping to raise.

"We are quite a small club and when the teacher had a heart attack it was nice to see everyone in that small community come together to support him.

"British Heart Foundation came down to the Club and then we took the children to the Stroke Ward on Saturday. They were all so grateful for the money we raised."

When the instructor heard about the sponsored throwdown, he promised to buy a new outfit for the top fundraiser, with one girl - Samantha - collecting £231.

As well as playing to their judo strengths, the children collected money from a bake sale, organised by judo members, Zack, Josh and Sammy.