Hundreds of volunteers staged London’s first ‘Light The Night’ walk yesterday in Canary Wharf to raise funds for blood cancer research.

East London Advertiser: Canary Wharf lights up for cancer researchCanary Wharf lights up for cancer research (Image: Copyright of Oliver Dixon / Imagewise)

Teams from Barclays, Morgan Stanley and Thomson Reuters marked the end of a month of fundraising with a lantern walk to Cabot Square.

It was organised by the world’s two largest blood cancer charities, Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research UK and America’s Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, with money still coming in and well on its way to reaching its £260,000 target.

Cathy Gilman, from Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research UK, said: “Those taking part have raised thousands to develop new treatments and improve patients’ quality of life.”

Light The Night has already raised $400 million in the US since 1999. Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s John Walter said: “This event has been our main fundraising for 15 years and has helped us invest $1 billion in research to advance cancer treatments that are saving lives today.”

Some 30,000 people are diagnosed with blood cancer in Britain each year.

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[pictures: Oliver Dixon]