Doncaster ball makes a super £70,000

Organisers of the Equinox annual ball, Doncaster couple Paul and Sarah Mullen, were thrilled with the success of their fifth successive event, staged to raise funds for the local Firefly charity, and Cancer Research UK..

And their efforts were applauded by famous names Philip Schofield, Paul Chuckle and Chesney Hawkes, who all sent messages and pledged their support.

All together, 25 celebrities supported the event with '˜video selfies' that were played to ballgoers on the night.

'We originally did the ball as a one-off, to raise funds and distract us, following the tragic death of both Paul's parents,' explained Sarah, 41.

'But people seem to enjoy it so much, we have said that as long as people continue to support us we will continue to do it.

'It was a phenomenal evening this year. The feedback has been fantastic and certainly, everyone seemed to have a good time.'

Paul's parents, Bob and Carol, died within two weeks of each other in 2013 and the first ball took place the following year.

The November 10, 2018 event for 480 guests was held at the Doncaster Deaf School, with a marquee for extra space, and is set to take place there again next year too.

'The food was superb,' added Sarah. 'We had entertainment throughout the meal, and guests were greeted with a drinks reception and music from Cat on Sax.

'House of Angels, a band from London, performed for us, with their DJ carrying people through to the early hours.

'A snow globe on the dance floor was spectacular too. People really enjoyed that, and the acrobats'¦.

'We could easily have sold 600 tickets for this year's ball, and people are already asking about 2019. We have the same venue booked and will be cracking on, as it does take a full year to organise.'

Some of the money raised at the ball '“ around £70,000 '“ was by way of donation in memory of Mick Spink, former director of A E Spinks, who died earlier this year. A sum of £20,000 was pledged towards a new Firefly van for 2019.

Sarah and Paul Sarah  don't have a committee, although they are helped along by Paula Davey.

They fundraise throughout the year with various events.

A Bring your Breastie night raised over £9,000 for Equinox earlier this year and is to be repeated in 2019, along with a Bring your  Testie event for men.

Golfing days, skydives and much more are in the mix and anyone wanting to get involved in any way should visit the Equinox facebook page.