IT should have been a time for celebration at a Hampshire children's charity.

The multi-million-pound Rose Road centre was due to be graced by royalty and formally opened by Prince Andrew last week.

Then a mystery blaze three months ago reduced the dreams of the disabled children at the Southampton centre to ashes.

However, smiles were back on the faces of volunteers and youngsters at the weekend as a bumper cheque for more than £20,000 was handed over from Southampton's luxury liner Queen Elizabeth 2.

The cash boost, totalling just under £21,000 was presented to the Rose Road Children's Appeal by the captain, crew and passengers to buy equipment for the children to use at the new centre.

Speaking about the donation, Janice Holmes, the appeal's director, said: "This is a most generous donation by the ship and the money will be used to buy specialist medical equipment for the children.

"I know all the children, their parents and everyone at Rose Road wants to say a big thank you to QE2.''

The money was raised by the passengers and crew on the liner during QE2's last world cruise earlier this year, through a variety of charity and sponsored events.

Rose Road was chosen after the ship's charity committee heard about the organisation's long-established work in the city since 1952, helping to educate and care for the children and their families, together with the efforts to develop the new centre.

The Rose Road project was put back eight months because of the blaze, in which flames swept through one of the six classrooms at the new complex in Aldermoor.

It caused smoke and heat damage to an extensive area of the new building on both floors as well as some rooms that needed to be completely rebuilt.

The cause of the fire, which happened at the end of March - just days before the charity was due to take over the building - has still not been established.

Now staff are working round the clock to have everything ready for the 250 children from across the south who will use the new centre when it opens in December.

The building, the most modern and advanced of its type in the country, has been designed to replace the charity's present cramped premises in Rose Road and provide the latest state-of-the art equipment and expert help for the profoundly disabled children and their families.

When the centre is finally comes into operation it will boast improved school facilities with spacious classrooms and two separate units for respite breaks - one for children and the other for young adults.