A WINTER ball organised by Julia's House with the backing of Wiltshire businesses has raised £23,000 to help with the running of a new children's hospice in Devizes.

Around 170 people gathered at Wellington Barn, near Calne for the glamorous event sponsored by Lloyds Bank, Wiltshire, Gaiger Bros, Devizes and Grant Engineering, Devizes.

An auction with 25 lots and a raffle with 40 prizes helped boost the takings for the evening.

The event started with a drinks reception and then the 170 Guests were entertained by Wiltshire Toastmasters Roger Unsworth and Mark Wilding who kicked off with a heads n tails fundraiser followed by a Sabrage where they used a sword to uncork champagne.

Archie Combe from Devizes played piano while magician Daniel Chard worked the tables during dinner with close up tricks.

The evening finished with music from the Echo Band.

Ged Montgomery from Julia's House said: "It was a fantastic evening and thanks must go to our sponsors and for the many Auction and Raffle Prizes kindly donated by all our supporters for the evening. It was an incredible amount of money raised and very much appreciated on behalf of Julia's House Children's Hospice.

Anna Wakefield marketing and corporate communications manager from Grant Engineering (UK) Ltd said: "It was wonderful to support the Julia’s House Winter Ball and be part of the fundraising efforts for such a worthy cause. The work this charity undertakes for children and their families, both at the hospice and in the community, really is life changing and we look forward to supporting them further over the coming year."

Graham Gaiger from Gaiger Bros said: "We were delighted to our offer our support for Julia's House. It is a wonderful cause and one very local to us. The ball was a fabulous evening which was thoroughly enjoyed by our table-well done to all who organised such a worthwhile event."

Julia's House hopes to open a children's hospice in Devizes in spring of next year. The Gazette has been supporting the charity throughout 2016 and hopes to raise £100,000 towards carers for Wiltshire families.