LESLEY Parratt will take part in next Sunday's Great North Run on Tyneside dressed as Scooby Doo - but this is more than just a Shaggy's dog story.

The Newport 45-year-old, a classroom assistant in the nursery unit at the city's Gaer Infants School, is raising money to help children caught in the horror of the recent Beslan school siege in Russia.

A Great North Run regular - this will be her ninth appearance - Mrs Parratt uses the event to raise money for good causes, and said Beslan had struck a chord this time.

"I was reading an article in a Sunday newspaper which said a teacher asked one of the terrorists to release the children. He then asked her if she had finished talking, she nodded her head, and he shot her," said Mrs Parratt.

"Reading things like that, and seeing it on the television, I just wanted to do something to help.

"I've also organised a joint raffle with the Gaer Junior and Infants Schools, and all the prizes are things I've picked up in competitions in local and national newspapers."

Mrs Parratt's choice of fancy dress was made by youngsters from Gaer Junior School, and she may need some Scooby snacks - the cartoon dog's favourite food - to help her.

"My best time is two hours and 20 minutes, and my worst is three hours, and I'm getting slower!" she said. "But it's a fantastic atmosphere on the route."

Mrs Parratt will pass on any money raised to the British Red Cross, for forwarding to Beslan. Donations can be given to her at 16 Ben Jonson Way, Gaer, Newport, or at Gaer Junior or Infants schools.