SHOPPERS and snooker fans helped to send our Operation Covert total soaring past the £20,000 mark this week.

Two hugely successful fund-raising events saw the tally boosted by a fantastic £2,394.55 in just three days.

Bag-packing by an army of Scouts at two of Kidderminster's major stores, brought in a tremendous total of £1,862.49 on Saturday.

Just 48 hours earlier £532.06 was raised from a raffle and donations at a major snooker event in the town.

The successes mean that we are now more than a quarter of the way to our target of £80,000 to rebuild the Rhydd Covert activity centre burned down by vandals last October.

A team of 75 Scouts, Cubs and Leaders worked in shifts at Sainsbury's and Morrisons to help shoppers pack their bags and received a great response.

Co-ordinator, Mark Searl, said most of the 14 district Scout groups took part from 10am until 4pm.

He said: "A lot of shoppers already knew what Operation Covert was all about and that helped.

"People were very generous and we are grateful to Sainsbury's and Morrisons management and staff for making us so welcome."

He added: "Most people contribute loose change and that soon mounts up. But there were plenty of fivers, some tenners and even a £20 note in the buckets during the day.

"There was a very good atmosphere and plenty of banter between shoppers and the Scouts."

Mark Woodward and his Rhydd Covert service team had the job of counting the cash during the day.

The bag-packers were at their busiest at around noon, but donations were spread fairly evenly through the day, the morning sessions yielding about £1,000 and in the region of £800 coming in the afternoon.

Mr Woodward said: "The bag-packing always pulls the district groups together and it also shows that we are prepared to put the time in and help ourselves when it comes to fund-raising."

A 900 sell-out audience packed the Glades Arena on Thursday for the biggest snooker night ever held in the town.

The event, in association with the Shuttle/Times and News, saw world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan in action with Paul Hunter, Jimmy White and Marco Fu in the Betfred.com Premier League.

The Shuttle/Times and News raffled two snooker cues autographed by the four players taking part and snooker enthusiasts snapped up tickets in their hundreds.

Editor, Clive Joyce, said: "Due to the night being screened live on Sky Sports, there was really just an hour beforehand to sell the tickets.

"But everyone dug deep and it was very pleasing to raise more than £500 in such a short space of time."

Colin Hill and Alan Worton, of Kidderminster and District Lions, led the ticket-selling team which included Shuttle/Times & News staff and 13-year-olds Edward Acutt and Tom Sinden, of KD21.

Mr Joyce said: "We are so grateful to Colin and Alan for giving up their time to help us. We would not have been able to raise so much without their drive and enthusiasm."

The snooker cues were won by Marion Arnott, of Kidderminster, and Linda Skelding, of Stourbridge.