A total of £40,000 was raised for Beechwood Cancer Care Centre at the charity’s 10th annual ladies’ lunch.

The event at the Hilton Deansgate in Manchester was attended by 350 people with a theme of ‘Through the Looking Glass’ and  hosted by Key 103 presenters Mike Toolan and Trevor Jordan.

Guest celebrities included TV presenter Jenny Powell.

The celebration included a fashion show with models who have used Beechwood’s services wearing clothes from Cheshire Housewife Seema Malthora’s Forever Unique range and Fizz Fashion from Wilmslow.

During the day, 14-year-old Darcy Stewart told her story of why she and her sister Konnie, aged 12, used Beechwood’s family therapy centre after their dad passed away from pancreatic cancer.

She said: “When my daddy died my heart broke into a million pieces, I didn’t know what I was going to do, I miss him so much. Beechwood helped me get my confidence back.”

The event was sponsored by Brown Shipley Private banking and Didsbury Magazine with ambassador’s Eventures, helping to dress the room.

Angela Gray, fundraising manager for Beechwood, said: “It was a totally amazing day. You can’t help to feel humbled when people are so willing to give back to Beechwood after receiving support, we can’t thank everyone enough.”