A new running club is proving extremely popular, with things only set to get busier in the New Year.

Dorchester Running Is Our Therapy (RIOT) is the town's first mixed sex affiliated running club.

Matt Ings who helped launch the group a year ago said that it has been an "amazing success" with more than 40 members recently signing up.

Matt said: "We run on Thursdays, meeting at 7pm at Running Free in Poundbury.

"We run different routes and we have three different paces.

"It started as a informal group last January and we soon had around 50 runners. We made it an official England Athletics Affiliated club late last year and since then we have just grown and grown.

"With it now being the New Year a lot of people are wanting to get into an exercise routine. We've had more than 40 people sign up recently and we're expecting a lot more.

"We're launching a Couch to 5k this month which is proving really popular. It's a nice easy way to get into running and everyone is in the same boat. We're quite a social group, no one gets left behind."

Matt said that the running group has also been building relationships with Dorchester businesses, with a selection offering discounts to club members.

He added: "This is the first mixed sex running group in Dorchester. The only other group is Soul Sisters which is for women only. There are quite a few different groups in Weymouth but we wanted their to be one where we live.

"During the winter we have three routes around Dorchester and a couple of times we go around Maiden Castle, which can be a bit spooky. But during the summer we can do a lot more and can go off road and through a load of different trails. Ever so often we go into Weymouth or Thorncombe Woods for a change.

"We're really looking forward to the Couch to 5k challenge. My dad started with it last January and since then he does the 5k park run every Saturday, he did two 10k runs and this year he wants to do a half marathon to mark his 60th."