FIRE walks and face-painting have raised money for a charity helping families be close to their seriously ill children in hospital.

Staff at McDonald’s restaurant in Dunbar have been working hard behind the scenes to raise money for Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) UK.

The charity aims to relieve some of the burden when a child is in hospital by providing free ‘home away from home’ accommodation.

Staff at the Dunbar restaurant organised several fundraising events, including a fire walk.

Face-painting also took place in the premises off Spott Road and a sweet cart has been built that will be donated to Ronald McDonald House Edinburgh.

The team also regularly donates vouchers to the local foodbank while collecting supplies and volunteering their time to help support the work the foodbank does in the community.

Operations consultant Kelly Cruickshank, who operates the restaurants across Dunbar, Fort Kinnaird and Dalkeith, which helped raised the money, said: “The Ronald McDonald House in Edinburgh is a very special place which helps families going through a difficult time.

“My team and I are always humbled by the amazing people that work there and the incredible support they provide, which is why we do what we can to help by raising money.

“We had so much fun raising money and look forward for our next fundraising challenge.”

The location of all houses gives families across the UK and abroad the chance to remain close to their child while they are in hospital, allowing them to be by their child’s bedside in a matter of moments and maintain a degree of normality during very difficult times.

The average family stay at a Ronald McDonald House is 16 nights, saving each family on average £1,240 per stay.

Jasmine Hind, marketing officer at the RMHC UK, said: “We are so grateful for the money raised by McDonald’s so far.

“It goes a long way towards ensuring we can provide families with the care and support they need when going through such a difficult time in their lives.

“We were over the moon to hear about the fundraising support from the Dunbar, Fort Kinnaird and Dalkeith restaurants.”