A woman and three of her friends successfully raised more than £3,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support in memory of their fitness coach.

59-year-old Claire Davis from Richmond, organised a fitness fundraiser with three other Zumba students after they lost Choreographer and Fitness Instructor Lesley Cogbill Thomas who died of breast cancer in September.

Richmond and Twickenham Times:

Over £3,000 was raised and donated to the MacMillan Cancer Support Charity.

Ms Davis said: “I first met Lesley through her popular Zumba classes – she was such a fantastic teacher that when we heard she was unable to continue teaching due to her terminal cancer diagnosis, fellow class members Miranda, Nicola and Maryam were inspired to train as Zumba instructors so they could continue Lesley’s classes, as well as her legacy.

“I think it gave Lesley some comfort that people were still enjoying her wonderful choreography.”

Zumba is an aerobic exercise fitness programme that originates from Colombia.

It combines moves used in Latin dances such as samba and salsa, as well as hip-hop and street dance, all set to an upbeat soundtrack.

Around 50 people took part in the cake sale and Latin-inspired charity work-out session on September 22nd and around £3,160 was raised.