The Puttinu Cares fundraising marathon had raised almost €1.4 million by the time it closed last night, meeting the target of the organisers.

The 60-hour football and volleyball marathon at the Marsa grounds started on Friday.

Hundreds of people joined in an entertainment programme while making their donations on Saturday and especially yesterday evening.

The funds will be used to pay for 12 apartments in Sutton, London, which are being used to accommodate patients and relatives who need to be taken to London for hospital care, particularly at the Royal Marsden cancer hospital.

The apartments are expected to be paid for this year, just three years into an expected 10-year period. Spokesman Joe Mifsud said on TV that this will lead Puttinu Cares to consider a new project for other apartments in central London close to other hospitals.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.