Guests at a charity ball will be arriving in everything from chauffeur-driven limousines to a helicopter.

The event at Severn End, Hanley Castle, is being held on behalf of the NSPCC.

The first Hanley Castle Midsummer Ball was held in 1999 and raised over £11,000 for the charity. It was attended by 250 people, many arriving in chauffeur-driven limousines.

"This year we have been asked to provide a helipad," said Nick Lechmere, who owns Severn End.

"We have found an ideal spot in the park, close to the event but away from the house or trees.

"We get a few light aircraft and military helicopters overhead but it will be a first for any of them to land in the park."

The organising committee of young mothers from the Hanley Castle area, with 20 children between them, stage a fundraising event every summer.

"Last year the children had a fun day," said chairman Sara Kitching. "This year it is the turn of the grown-ups to let their hair down."

The faade of Severn End, ancestral home of the Lechmere family, has been restored to form the perfect backdrop for the midsummer ball.

Nick and Caroline Lechmere moved into their half-timbered home last year with their four young children and set about returning the house and its gardens to their former glory.

This includes rebuilding the Judge's Study, a two-storey building set in the garden walls and built by Judge Nicholas Lechmere, reputedly as a sanctuary from his 11 children.

The ball takes place on Saturday, June 30 and more than 200 tickets were reserved even before they went on sale. Priced at £50 per person, they include champagne, dinner and live entertainment.

For information and tickets, call Sally Pettipher on 01684 311329 or email sally@greenandgold.org.