THE Force was with a group of fundraisers who startled shoppers in Bexley with their Star Wars homage while raising cash for the Bobby Moore Fund.

The characters walked from Bexleyheath Broadway to Welling in costume and carrying collecting buckets while offering to be photographed with passers-by for a donation.

They were the family and friends of Dave Ryan who has been raising the cash for the fund, which finances research into bowel cancer, as two of his relatives have the disease.

He was dressed as Chewbacca and was joined by other fundraisers from Welling, including Robin Bovenizer, a Welling hairdresser, who dressed as Princess Leia.

Mr Ryan, 41, who runs a flooring company, is also raising money to take part in a project in Ecuador, when he and other volunteers will spend nearly two weeks in a small village, renovating the village school and its facilities.

The fundraiser was just one of many he has already held, which have raised nearly £5,000. This one raised £340.