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A teddy bear raffle helped put the fun into fundraising as a club charity day raised £2,238.17 for Children's Hospice South West.

Tiverton Constitutional Club welcomed new faces through its doors for the fundraiser, which was backed by members and supporters from across the town. A prize draw alone raised more than £1,000, with all of the prizes donated.

Sylvia Read, from the club, said: "It was good fun and it was lovely to get new people into the club. It was great to see how the town pulled together. Every prize in the draw was donated and the draw raised more than £1,000."

Angela Cousins, also from the club, said the day had been busy, with members getting behind the fundraising effort.

Angela said: "The club members were fantastic and everyone was very supportive. We also held a teddy bear raffle, which was hilarious, especially getting everyone to name the teddy. We did very well with the amount we raised."

As well as raising money for charity, the event gave visitors a chance to find out more about the club. Angela said: "Hopefully they will come back, become members and join us for our various events."

Sylvia added: "It is a friendly club, and we have got air conditioning too."

Debbie Birtwistle, from Children’s Hospice South West, said the £2,238.17 raised would help the charity continue supporting families. Debbie said: "It is fantastic because we can continue to support our families with therapies and day trips for our teenagers. We are very, very grateful and we had a fantastic day working with everyone."

She said the money would be used to support the children and families cared for by the hospice.

Debbie added: "We never class it simply as running costs. It will definitely go towards keeping our children happy and helping our families make memories and spend time playing together."

Sylvia said charity fundraising had long been part of the Constitutional Club, although the fun day was its biggest event of its kind so far. She said: "It is something we have always done, although this is probably our biggest event. In the past we have raised money in smaller ways through different sponsored activities, but this is something we felt we could do on a bigger scale. We are supporting this charity for the rest of the year as well, so we will continue fundraising until next April."

Sylvia said the decision to support Children’s Hospice South West came after hearing Debbie speak about the charity’s work at a meeting of the Gin and Jam Ladies group. She said: "I went to a presentation and Debbie really touched my heart with what they do. Debbie came to speak to the Gin and Jam Ladies group and that is really where it all came from."