OLD, new, classic and sporty – more than 100 minis lined up with bumpers shining and paintwork polished for the start of the East Coast Mini Run yesterday morning.

The event, which raises money for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH), is an annual favourite for enthusiasts of the cult cars.

Groups of Minis headed out from Carrs showroom in Bury St Edmunds at 10am to the halfway point for refreshments, before travelling to the finishing line on the Green at Southwold.

Four-year-old Charlie Middleton, from Stowmarket, who receives care at The Treehouse in Ipswich, helped launch the run this year, with members of the East Coast Mini Club.

EACH fundraiser, Patsy Johnson-Cisse also took part in a special Mini donated to the organisation via the Have a Heart appeal in 2011.

She said: “We’re really pleased the East Coast Mini Run has chosen EACH to receive the funds raised.”

Costs to keep EACH running are far from ‘mini’. It aims to raise more than £5.75million from public donations this year.