Members, supporters and well-wishers came together to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Carlisle Stroke Club.

Established by Dr Peter Chin, a former stroke consultant at the Cumberland Infirmary, the club relies on a small team of volunteers - and meets at Robert Ferguson School in Denton Holme on the first and third Tuesday of the month.

"We organised a dinner to celebrate our 40th anniversary," said chairwoman Christine Mountain.

"We had the mayor here, as well as Dr Paul Davies, a stroke consultant from the hospital and his wife.

"In total we had about 80 guests altogether and that included members, supporters and friends of the club as well as people who have raised money on our behalf."

Christine said that the club is continuing to raise awareness of the seriousness that suffering a stroke can cause.

"It's the third biggest killer in the UK," she said.

"Not many people know that.

"Every five minutes someone in the UK has a stroke. There are devastating effects and stroke sufferers are the biggest users of hospital beds.

"We often feel that raising awareness of the damage strokes can cause doesn't get the coverage that it deserves."