A Star Wars themed campaign has helped to raise £250,000 for children's charities

Star Wars fans showed off their best Jedi moves to help raise a whopping sum for children’s charities.

A campaign themed around the hit films, organised as part of a partnership between Santander and Barnardo’s, has raised £250,000.

Force for Good encouraged the bank's customers and staff to take Stars Wars themed snaps and videos to raise money for Barnardo’s and Together For Short Lives, a charity which supports children with life-threatening and life-limiting conditions.

Joining in the fun were former F1 World Champion Jenson Button, who filmed a clip with fan favourite droid character BB-8, and Star Wars actor and Barnardo’s supporter Warwick Davis, who also filmed a themed clip to encourage people to take part.

For every Star Wars photo or clip which was uploaded to the dedicated campaign website, Santander donated £25 to each charity. With more than 5,000 entries this meant the bank reached its fundraising target of £125,000 for both organisations.

The fun submissions included children defeating Darth Vader with lightsabers, chickens dressed up as Jedis and Storm Troopers defending a goal during a game of football.

Fifteen lucky winners received a Star Wars hamper prize filled with themed goodies, while grand prize winner Simon Tilley, from Wales, was thrilled to win a Star Wars inspired trip to Skellig in Ireland, one of the locations featured in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Barnardo’s chief executive Javed Khan said: “It has been fantastic to see how many people got into the spirit of the campaign and submitted videos and photos.

“They have all been brilliant and must have been so much fun to make – I know our staff at Barnardo’s enjoyed filming their submissions.”