The first ever Independence Day Run is to come to the East End to raise money for a charity which supports the families of terminally ill children.

On the 237th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence from British rule, around 500 runners will take to the streets for the inaugural Independence Day Run. Organisers hope the event will raise in excess of £30,000 to support the work of the Rainbow Trust, which provides practical support to the families of seriously ill youngsters.

Insurance broker Andrea White, who is the driving force behind the project, said: “I wanted to do something that would leave a legacy for Rainbow Trust in both funds and profile and first came up with the idea of a run three or four years ago.”

But she admits the choice of date for the event was more a result of luck than design.

“It happens to be the day we picked and it helps us market it,” the 53-year-old confessed.

“But it’s a good way of people remembering the date of the run!”

Participants taking to the streets on the Thursday evening will pass East End landmarks including Shadwell’s King Edward Memorial Park and the Limehouse basin.

And Andrea, who lives in Wapping Wall, hopes the five kilometre and 10 kilometre events will become an annual fixture on the London running calender.

She wants plenty of local people to get involved and join her colleagues from the City in raising cash for a worthy cause.

“I love Wapping,” she said. “I’m trying to make it a local event, and the local people have been fantastic.”

For more information and to register for the run, visit: rainbowtrust.org.uk/independence.