A KNOCKOUT fundraising event will take place in York next month to raise thousands of pounds for the Macmillan York Appeal.

Macmillan Cancer Relief is asking people to join forces with their friends and colleagues and form a team for this year's It's A Knockout on August 3 at York Racecourse.

Teams of ten people are being encouraged to join in the games that involve leaping on and off slippery bouncy castles with lots of water and foam, to raise much needed money for the Macmillan York Appeal.

The Appeal was launched last June to raise £400,000 to fund two additional Macmillan nurses and a Macmillan GP for the York area.

Companies such as the Helmsley Group, Simpson York Ltd, Shepherd Engineering Services, Woolworths and Kraft Foods are already signed up.

Communications company TeleWare, based in Thirsk, is entering the event for the third year running.

Phil Ward, TeleWare's purchaser and It's A Knockout team captain, said: "We are a company that like to have a go at anything, so the first year we decided to give it a go.

"After that the excitement and sense of team spirit just spurred us on to take part again.

"It's a fun-loving competition that we all enjoy, and knowing that we are supporting such a worthy charity is determination enough - especially because it is supporting a local appeal we will continue to take part."

Teams consist of ten people and each person is asked to raise only £50. Alex Emsley, Macmillan Cancer Relief's York Appeal Co-ordinator, said: "As Phil has explained, It's A Knockout is a great event for people to be part of.

"We've raised over £20,000 each year from the event, all of which has made a real difference to people living with cancer in the York area."

To register a team, or for more information about It's A Knockout, please phone Alex Emsley on 01904 756402.

Updated: 08:36 Thursday, July 17, 2003