AN EVENING do has raised nearly £6,000 for charity.

The Ladies Night of the Elvetham Masonic Lodge raised nearly £6,000 for Ark Cancer Centre Charity and Diabetes UK when it was held at the Apollo Hotel in Basingstoke in June.

The black-tie event was to celebrate the end of the year of office for the Worshipful Master of the Basingstoke Lodge, Warren Snook.

With his wife Lisa and sons Oscar and Reuben, Warren was the driving force behind the event which saw 160 people enjoy a three-course dinner and an evening of entertainment including a raffle and the auction.

At the end of July, Warren and Lisa presented a cheque for £2,875 to Mark Jones, director of fundraising and communications for Ark Cancer Centre Charity.

Mr Jones said: "Thank you to Warren, Lisa and everyone at Elvetham Masonic Lodge for this generous show of support. It is much appreciated and is another welcome donation to Ark's £5million fundraising appeal."

Ark Cancer Centre Charity is raising £5m towards a new cancer treatment centre, and this sum will provide a range of support services and complementary therapies, alongside chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments, in a calm and uplifting environment.

Largely being funded by Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (HHFT), plans are progressing to locate the new cancer treatment centre on the existing Basingstoke hospital site.