MORE than £1,000 pounds was raised by the Basingstoke Hyenas at the charity match against the Blue Line Hockey League from New York on Sunday.

In excess of 700 people turned up to support the occasion including MP Andrew Hunter, Major Ron Ferguson and the new mayor Cllr Rita Burgess.

They were treated to an entertaining game which the visitors won 4-1, while the period breaks saw British synchronised skating champions Team Sparkle give a demonstration, and the under-10 Bison beat the local firemen 3-0 in a challenge game.

Peter Hawken, Hyena player and one of the organisers, said: "We are delighted with the amount we have raised from the evening and the team would like to thank all who turned up. This is the first time we have done anything like this and I hope everyone had a great evening."

The money raised, which was swelled by a donation of £250 from SC Johnson of Frimley, will be divided between the September 11th fund, the mayor's chosen charity and Saxon Wood School.

The Blue Line Hockey team, made up of players from the emergency services in New York, took the first period 4-0 as David Capps and Darren Wakeling netted one each and man-of-the-match James Marciano got two.

The second session saw the home side hit back as John Purcell netted with assistance from Ian Courtney.

The Hyenas had other chances as Kyle Alexander, Scott Still and Courtney all went close and James Bone hit the post with 27 seconds left in the session.

Before the final period, Basingstoke firemen showed their skating skills, but found the under-10 Bison too hot to handle as they lost 3-0 as Andrew Marsh, Ollie Comley and Jamie Joyce all scored.

The final session saw no further goals as Mark Westbrook picked up the Hyenas' man-of-the-match award.

The Hyenas are next in action on June 16 (5pm) when Rene Stallions visit Basingstoke.