STAFF, family and friends enjoyed a musical night at Pitmaston Primary School in Worcester, raising £2,700 for St Richard’s Hospice.

The black tie event was organised by school teaching assistants Emma Rixon and Jill Hill in the school hall.

More than 100 guests were welcomed with champagne and each lady was given a pouch of snowdrop bulbs, the symbol of St Richard’s Hospice, to plant for the future.

The event included live music, a raffle, an auction and a buffet.

The varied music programme was provided by Cantabile - String Quartet; The Score, a 5-man band and solo vocalist Hannah Mackinnon,

Mrs Rixon said: “My father, Brian Pratley, was cared for in St Richard’s for a number of weeks and we both know of others affected by life-threatening illnesses so supporting the hospice was an easy choice.”

She added: "The evening was a great success raising more money than we could ever of imagined.

"People are now asking us to organise another do.

"Much of this success is down to the generous donations of raffle and auction prizes that were given to us by St Johns and other local businesses.

"All our musical acts donated their time to our event and a huge thank-you also needs to go to Sue Bladen, Norman Baldwin, Jayne Moran and Alison Williams who also gave up their time to help."

The event took place on Saturday, February 8.

St Richard’s Hospice provides free specialist palliative care for patients living with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses and supports their families. Each year the hospice team supports over 2,400 patients and family members in Worcestershire.