Anyone visiting Victoria Park on Sunday will have been surprised to see rows of reindeer antlers flying past them.

The passing blurs and flashing Rudolph red noses were signs of over 250 runners taking part in the Reindeer Run to raise money for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

The Viccy Park race was supposed to take place in December but organisers had to call it off because of bad weather.

So the brave east London runners braved the January cold instead and raised more than �3200 for the charity through their registration fees alone.

The organisers believe that total could double once individual sponsorships are added up.

Mile End runner David Howells, 31, was first past the post in the 10k race with a personal best time of 37 minutes 58 seconds.

Holly Gilbert, 32, also from Mile End, was the first woman to complete the course in a time of 39 minutes 30 seconds.

In the 5K route, the winner was 16-year-old George Clancy, from Bow, with a time of 21 minutes 2 seconds and the first female across the line was Lisa Clifford, 36, of Wanstead, with a time of 22 minutes and 7 seconds.

Samantha Kay, RNLI events manager for London and the South East, said: “These are difficult times for everyone so our runners’ efforts are even more appreciated with that in mind.

“Every penny raised helps to fund the lifeboats that our volunteers crews launch on rescue missions.”