More than £40,000 has been raised by the Evening Star, Ipswich, at its annual Press Ball.

The gigantic fund raising effort – this year renamed Thunder Ball to reflect its special James Bond theme – raised double the amount that the paper had hoped, for Ipswich-based charity Disability Care Enterprise.

Mayor of Ipswich Richard Risebrow was the ball’s guest of honour and he was joined by members of the press, representatives from several large companies in Ipswich and Suffolk – and several lookalikes of famous characters from Bond films.

At the start of the evening they were greeted by a circling helicopter from RAF Wattisham and the evening proved to be a high-flyer.

Donations poured in throughout the evening and the 270-strong audience saw the appeal boosted by £8,000 in under an hour, and by midnight that total had soared to £40,000.

A large part of the money was raised through an auction of items which included a signed Manchester United football which was snapped up for £900 and an RAF Wattisham trip for two to join the crew in action.

Evening Star editor Nigel Pickover said: “This is wonderful – our best ever total. In six years we’ve raised more than £100,000. Now in one night, that figure is at least £140,000.

“It is a tremendous feeling to have shattered our target and it’s concrete evidence that when it comes to fundraising, Suffolk certainly knows how to do it in style.”

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