GUESTS at a Bavarian Christmas themed Ball raised a phenomenal £130,000 for Millington children’s charity, the Children’s Adventure Farm Trust on Saturday, December 3 at Mere Golf Resort and Spa.

They were joined by patrons Dame Sarah Storey, Noddy and Suzan Holder, Melanie Bishop and Catherine Kingston, all of whom were delighted to join the fantastic night of fun and fundraising.

The charity’s 19th annual ball was attended by 320 guests who were greeted by CAFT staff dressed in Lederhosen and a warming glass of mulled wine.

A magical Grotto gave the drinks reception an extra special festive feel, but it was when the guests entered the main room that they were transported to Bavaria at Christmas, with thousands of twinkling lights, stunning table centres from Verdure and music from Brasswurst – an authentic and fabulous Oom-pah band.

Main sponsors Simplyhealth were pleased to attend, as were the theme sponsors Thermotech.

Compere Andy Ashworth officially welcomed guests to the Ball dressed as Santa before launching the fun and fundraising which saw guests taking part in not only a Grand Raffle, which had fabulous prizes including ladies fragrances from Pulse of Perfumery, but also two very special raffles with some amazing prizes.

During the Christmas Cracker raffle beautiful Hotel Chocolat crackers were sold against the clock and the holder of the winning ticket went away with a stunning diamond and white gold necklace worth £2,500 donated by Randalls of Altrincham, with the runner up winning an impressive Hotel Chocolat hamper.

Festive soft toys were sold during a further special raffle each with a number attached, the lucky winner walked off with two tickets for a Christmas trip aboard the Northern Belle, the iconic sister train of the Orient Express.

And to top it all off there was the Grand Auction which included prizes such as a fabulous luxury holiday visiting fairytale castles in the Bavarian Alps sponsored by Beechwood Travel, holidays to Crete and the Algarve and a once in a lifetime opportunity to watch a match at Old Trafford with CAFT President Sir Bobby Charlton.

Guests were moved by an emotive and heartfelt speech given by Haanagh Smith, mum to twins Zachary and Reuben who were born with Cerebral Palsy.

Haanagh and her family had recently enjoyed a break at the Adventure Farm and her personal story gave guests a fantastic insight into the daily struggles of her family, and why their stay at CAFT was so important to her family.

Live music was provided by the Deadbeats who filled the dancefloor for the duration of their set, and DJ Neil Bebbo rounded the evening off nicely before carriages at 2am.

Events fundraiser Pippa Watton said: “This was such a wonderful night, our guests really are the best.

"Our staff and volunteers work so hard on this event and its so rewarding for us all to see everyone having such a great time.

"Every year we are blown away by the generosity of our guests and this year was no exception. To raise £130,000 in just one night is astounding, we’re all still reeling.

"This money will make such a huge difference to the children visiting us here at the Adventure Farm and we can’t thank everyone enough for their unwavering support.”

For further information about future events or to enquire about the work of the Adventure Farm, call the Fundraising Team on 01565 830 053, or visit their website caft.co.uk.