Charity's 'amazing' windfall thanks to panto

Zoe's Place, a hospice for babies, raised an astonishing £11,073 during the annual pantomime run at Leamington's Royal Spa Centre.

The hospice had a presence at every performance with their donation buckets to raise money and awareness.

Zoe’s Place is a hospice in Coventry which provides palliative and respite care for very, or terminally ill babies, and children of up to five.

The windfall will help the charity get up to full capacity so it can offer more care and more respite.

Volunteer coordinator Elly Petrruci said: “I’m just beside myself to know we raised so much money. I couldn’t have imagined such an amazing response. Everyone I met in connection with the panto was just amazing."

Every year, the Royal Spa Centre gives one charity the chance to raise money during the pantomime run. Some 24,200 people walked through the venue's doors last December making it a great opportunity to draw attention to a worthy cause.

Programming and marketing manager Laura Wyatt said: “It’s great that we are able to offer charities the opportunity to raise the profile of their cause, and we are always so amazed at our customers' generosity."