Help for Heroes events raise money in Burton and Bishop’s Cleeve

The Help for Heroes charity has benefitted from two events which have been held in Gloucestershire and Staffordshire in recent days.

At Burton's Shobnall Leisure Complex hundreds of people attended a fundraiser organised by Joanna Williams. Her husband went through the pain of having his chest waxed, while her brother-in-law had both of his legs stripped of hair.

A host of other attractions were also arranged, including a bouncy castle, face painting and glitter tattoos, while over 40 stalls were on hand to sell freshly baked cakes, sweets and candy floss. Two imposing fire engines left the kids – and some of the bigger kids – in awe, and dance groups thrilled the crowd with their acts.

In total over £550 was raised, with more sponsorship money still to come in, according to the Burton Mail.

Ms Williams told the newspaper she has family in the army and so does her brother-in-law, so they know a lot of people who will be affected and by the charity.

"We have been to a lot of charity events and many of them are for cancer charities or children's charities and we had never seen one for Help for Heroes."

In Gloucestershire, residents from Bishop's Cleeve turned out at the Royal Oak pub for an event which was organised in memory of murdered soldier Drummer Lee Rigby.

The fundraiser, which also coincided with Armed Forces Day, was organised by landlord Chris Broom and saw a bouncy castle and many other activities put on for children.

The theme of the movie Toy Story was used and more than £500 was raised.

"A lot of people came in on Saturday and it was a very good day. It was just fantastic, and the support we got for it from the community was huge. It is a very important day, not just for us, but for the soldiers who have risked so much and sacrificed so much to keep us safe in the country," Mr Broom told ThisisGloucestershire.co.uk.