AN evening of fun and music raised £1,100 for the Essex Wildlife Trust.

Held at Belfairs Woodland Centre, in Leigh, the event saw musicians donate their time free.

These included the Hoy Shanty Crew, Quin and Quart, the Gaudeamus Choir and the Show choir with songs from musicals like Les Miserables.

Alison Askwith, Belfairs Woodland Centre assistant centre manager, said: “This was our first open air concert for the Essex Wildlife Trust at Belfairs.

“The musicians all gave their time for free and we couldn’t have done it without that. All the musicians were local.

“People were dancing and singing along. It all went wonderfully well.”

Ms Askwith added: “We are hoping to run the event again but it attracted more people than we expected so we will have to discuss it.

“We would love to do it again but we really couldn’t do it without the musicians providing their time for free.

“We raised an amazing amount of money for the trust which reflects just how much people really enjoyed it.”