KILTED Morton stars were the centre of attention as they helped out at a special ladies' lunch that raised �6,500 for charity.

A group of Ton players donned Highland dress - and their club away kits - at the Scottish-themed tartan lunch, which took place on Sunday in Greenock Town Hall.

The event, in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, was organised by the newly-formed Inverclyde Fundraising Group run by cancer survivor Kyla McKinlay and her sister Stacey Buckley.

The lunch proved a huge success after �6,500 was raised through ticket sales, raffles and prize draws.

Kilted Morton players and manager Allan Moore were there on the day to lend a hand by serving champagne and selling raffle tickets, while River City star Carmen Pieraccini - who plays the show's Kelly-Marie - was master of ceremonies and entertained the crowd.

Greenock mum-of-one Kyla, 36, who was diagnosed with breast cancer just over a year ago and recently got the all-clear, was delighted with the response to the fundraiser.

She said: "Everyone was great - the Morton boys gave up their whole day and Carmen from River City was great keeping everybody going.The amount we raised exceeded our expectations.

"Because I was ill and people see me fundraising, they want to give to the charity, which is really nice - we don't even have to ask.

"People in Inverclyde are some of the most generous you will ever come across." Sisters Kyla and Stacey have helped organise the charity bash for the past few years and it has rapidly grown in popularity.

Stacey said: "It was a really good day and we've had good feedback. Carmen was the host and Morton agreed to come along and serve the champagne and sell raffle tickets in their kilts, which were donated by Smiths. We know the team well and some of them have been affected by cancer in their families. Manager Allan Moore's sister died of cancer, so they were all very keen to lend their support." The organisers have issued a heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped make the day such a success.

Kyla said: "From all of the group, we would like to say a very big thank you to everybody who turned up, donated and who were part of the event on the day." Stacey added: "All the money we raised stays in Inverclyde."