A COUNTRY and western evening and charity auction held at Bettws Cedewain has been successful in raising £26,350 for the Lingen Davies Cancer Fund.

The event was organised by friends of Alison Davies, from Tregynon, who sadly passed away last year.

Around 420 people turned out for the evening held at Highgate, starting with an auction led by Clive Langford and then followed by music and dancing with Mark Watkin and the band Mid Life Crisis.

The organisers are keen to thank all who made donations for the sale and attended on the night to raise such an “incredible” sum. They also thanked the owners, Mr and Mrs Dane Owen, for the use of the venue.

A friend of Alison’s said: “She was a popular member of the community and the amount we raised speaks volumes for the type of person she was.”

She said Alison had wanted to raise money for the Lingen Davies Cancer Fund (LDCF) herself, as she had received treatment at the unit in Shrewsbury and benefited from the charity’s work, but had been taken ill quite suddenly. Her friends decided to complete her wishes and go ahead with what she had planned to do.

The Lingen Davies Cancer Fund supports services for the residents of Shropshire, Telford and Mid Wales, who are affected by the illness.

Started in 1979 by Bernard Lingen, then Mayor of Shrewsbury, and local accountant Frank Davies, it is estimated that around 75,000 people have benefited from the work of the charity and all the funds raised.

A spokeswoman for LDCF said: “We have a new appeal, which amongst other things, is raising money for new clinic rooms at the Lingen Davies Cancer Centre and also a CT scanner.”