A CHARITY evening and raffle staged by Marie Harris, Lea Alford and Karen Pritchard, of Bridgwater, raised £1,250 Somerset Unit for Radiotherapy Equipment.

The cash was among the £1,876.75 handed over last week to the County Gazette-backed SURE charity, which funds equipment for the Beacon Centre cancer unit at Taunton's Musgrove Park Hospital.

Other donations included £100 from the Tangent Club, in Minehead; £94.99 from Mrs Pat Jones, of Taunton, mainly in 1p and 2p coins she collected in an eight-pint whisky bottle; and £60 from Robin Smith, of Puriton, who held a quiz in the village.

Collections of 5ps included £31.10 from 'the girls' at Boots, Taunton; £6.70 from Steph Lawrence and Marilyn Woodland; £27.15 from Suzanne Knight and Cotford St Luke Primary School; £9 from the Marks family of Taunton; and £177.15 from the Beacon Centre.

There was also £49.06 from the collection pot at the One Stop Shop, Galmington; left at the Beacon Centre was £27.67 from the collection pot at Studio 51, Watchet; and £43.93 in an anonymous collection pot.

A total of £686,342.33 has been raised since SURE linked up with the County Gazette.