A BRIDE-to-be is preparing for St Luke’s Hospice’s most lucrative event of the year – the Midnight Walk.

Women taking part in the event will don bright pink attire to trek around a nine-mile course in the early hours of Saturday, June 30, beginning at Harrow Leisure Centre in Christchurch Avenue, Wealdstone, after a warm-up to get the crowd going.

More than 1,400 people took part last year and raised £205,000 in sponsorship and entry fees. Organisers expect the number of the walkers to top 1,500 this year.

School teacher Anjali Pattni, who has taken part in the past four walks, has joined the organising committee and is walking in memory of her aunt, alongside family and friends, in a team called Bridesmaids in PJs.

Miss Pattni said: “In 2007, my aunt, Daya Ben Dhanak, was a patient at St Luke’s and we quickly realised how amazing the hospice and all of the people who work there are.”

She and her family have raised £16,853 from the walk since 2008.

Miss Pattni said: “This year my fiancé, Jay, and I have been choosing a wedding date in June. One of my first questions was, ‘When is the Midnight Walk this year?”

St Luke’s is celebrating its 25th anniversary and the charity hopes to raise an extra £250,000 to help expand its palliative care, especially its Hospice At Home service.

Admission to the Midnight Walk is £20 and places can be booked via www.stlukes-hospice.org/midnightwalk or Jemini Shah on 020 8382 8018.

The Observer will regularly feature walkers who are taking part.