OUR 200 Appeal will receive a boost of more than £28,000 following the hugely successful Julia’s House End of Summer Ball on Saturday.

The event at Dauntsey’s School, organised by the volunteer group Devizes Friends of Julia’s House, saw 250 guests dine in style before dancing the night away to live music.

A live auction proved one of the highlights of the evening, with a villa holiday break in Barbados raising £2,800, while a Fender Precision Bass guitar signed by Sting sold for £2,000.

Ian Wadley, Wiltshire Fundraising Manager for Julia’s House, said: “This inaugural event exceeded all of our expectations and we are delighted that so many local people supported the ball with such generosity. The auction was a particular success and the bidding proved very competitive!”

Guests arrived to a drinks reception with music from pianist and singer Archie Combe, before a three-course dinner preceded the auction and entertainment from the Will Blake Band.

Among those enjoying the night was Olympic skeleton bob silver medalist Shelley Rudman from Pewsey and her husband Kristan Bromley.

Mr Wadley added: “We would like to thank our fantastic group of volunteers in Devizes for all their hard work in making the ball happen. We are also very grateful to the many local businesses and individuals who sponsored and attended the event to ensure it was such a success.”

Gazette editor Gary Lawrence said: "This is an incredible amount of money to be raised in one evening for our appeal. We are so grateful to everyone who attended and those who made such generous bids in the auction.

"This is a fantastic boost to our appeal and means the £100,000 we pledged to raise in 2016 is becoming achievable."

The Gazette launched its Julia's House appeal in January as part of a celebration to mark the paper's 200th anniversary. Money raised will go towards paying for carers to help families in Wiltshire with children with life-limiting illnesses.

The charity already has one children's hospice in Dorset but has now started work on creating a second on part of the old Kennet District Council offices in Devizes.

It is expected to open next year.