Regulars at The George pub in Lower Stone Street, Leeds, might get in a bit of a flap tonight when four penguins invade the bar.

But the ice will soon be broken when the penguins reveal themselves to be four ladies on a charity fundraising jaunt.

The friends Sandie Hughes, Leigh-Anne McCague, Charlotte Lawrence and Nadine Lamont-Brown are aiming to reach the pub after completing another eight-miles towards their ambition of waddling 100 miles to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

Mrs Hughes said: "We did our first walk on February 17 and expect to complete the 100 miles on Good Friday."

The raft of penguins was spurred to act, when Mrs McCague's father, Fred Mallett, fell ill with the disease. Sadly Mr Mallett, 83, has now passed away.

Mrs Hughes said: "We've all been touched by cancer in some way, hasn't every family?"

She lost her own daughter, Louise, to squamous cell carcinoma 30 years ago, when her daughter was just 20.

But although the cause is a serious one, the women have found the penguin suits have brought a lot of fun.

The penguins have already been spotted cramming in a phone box, bouncing on a trampoline and even taking a hot-tub together.

"Everyone loves a penguin," said Mrs Hughes, "and we sometimes time our walks to be near schools at coming-out time. The parents are usually very generous and we hand out Penguin bars to the youngsters."

They have already raised £4,000, mostly from bucket collections they make along the way.

They are aiming to complete their trek at the Who'd A Thought It pub in Headcorn Road, Grafty Green, on Good Friday, when the pub will host a charity day from 1pm in their honour with a tombola, bakery stall and - of course - a fish menu.