MORE than 83,000 pairs of spectacles, cases and lenses have been collected by members of the Lions Club of Petersfield and are now destined for developing countries.

On Sunday members of the club met representatives of other Lions clubs in the district and picked up people's unwanted glasses.

The project has been running every year since 1981 and more than a million pairs of glasses, lenses and cases have been donated to the good cause.

During their 19th annual Spectrek on Sunday members of the Lions Club of Petersfield visited 57 out of the 66 clubs in the district.

Members say they are delighted with the response to this year's collection.

The record number was not broken this year but members say the collection will go a long way to the target of reaching the group's second million.

Terry Tidd, spokesman for the Lions Club of Petersfield, said: "This does not quite reach the record of 85,000 last year but with the 82,000 collected in 1999, the year after the first million was recorded, this means a three-year total of 250,000. This is a quarter of the way to the second million."

The Lions Club of Petersfield was forced to postpone the town's eighth half- marathon, which was due to be held in March, due to problems with foot-and-mouth causing restrictions on access to the countryside. The event is now set to take place on Sunday, October 21.