Clare Lewis, a photographer for The Sentinel in Stoke-on-Trent, has lent her skills behind the lens to a good cause by putting together her own charity calendar.

When the 25-year-old heard about a fight by a local group of women for the breast cancer drug Herceptin, she decided to help by doing what she does best and take photographs of them.

Using the paper’s studio after hours and whatever props she could lay her hands on, she captured the seven women and other Herceptin campaigners and family members in a variety of poses, including the famous rose petal scene from American Beauty.

Clare said the fundraising idea had been dreamed up when she joined campaigners on a recent march in London.

She said: “We were talking about it on the bus to London and it just seemed like a good idea. We decided to take some fun pictures, using a variety of pink themes to symbolise breast cancer.

“Everyone was really up for it, I didn’t have to talk anyone into it and it was a lot of fun to do.”

More than 1,000 calendars are being printed and will be on sale locally with all the proceeds going to the Women Fighting for Herceptin fund, to pay for early stage breast cancer patients to be treated with the life-prolonging drug, which is currently denied to them on the NHS.

The calendar was designed by Clare’s graphic designer fiancee Mathew Jennings, and local companies have donated cash to cover the cost of printing.