I AM delighted to report that the Knutsford and District Lions Club Christmas appeal collection in the centre of the town on Friday, December 5 and Saturday, December 6 raised a fantastic total of £1,300.

This does not include the monies in the appeal envelopes deposited during that period.

The house to house envelope collection has so far raised a further £1,154 and, as a large proportion of these donations were gift aided, further monies will be added in due course.

A daily stream of envelopes has been delivered to the Heritage Centre over the past few weeks, and anyone still wishing to make a donation can deposit their envelopes there.

Considerable help was provided by 16 Knutsford Hosts, either in the street collection, the delivery of envelopes, or both, and Lions members wish to thank all those taking part for their great contribution.

Without their enthusiastic assistance the appeal would have been very difficult to arrange.

The monies raised will enable the Lions to host Christmas day lunch for those who would otherwise be alone, and to stage the Senior Citizens Variety Show at the Methodist Church on Saturday, February 7, 2015.

All surplus monies will be used for good causes within the community in the coming months.

On behalf of the Lions I would like to thank local people and visitors to the town for their incredible generosity.

Many, many thanks.

Peter Willgoose President