Golden-hearted pupils and staff at a Chandler's Ford school have handed over a bumper cheque to Southampton's Rose Road Children's Appeal.

Thornden School adopted the appeal last year and raised £2,424 through fundraising events, which included a 24-hour fast, cake sales, non-uniform day and raffles.

The driving force behind the fundraising were Alison Davis, Oliver Schofield and Lucy Roberts, backed by senior teacher Lyn Webb who helped to co-ordinate and support their fundraising efforts.

Pc Paul Ground, a parent of one of the pupils, leapt into action when he heard about Thornden's support for the appeal. His London Marathon run raised £350.

Appeal director Jan Webber said: "The youngsters behind this fundraising effort need to be applauded for such a splendid result.

"They have given up many hours of their free time and worked to raise money for our appeal.

"I hope this will encourage other young people to help those at Rose Road who really do need their support. Pc Ground's efforts were equally as impressive and it was kind of him to raise money for the appeal too. We are very grateful."

The Rose Road Appeal aims to raise £4.75 million to build a new centre at Aldermoor, Southampton, for some of the most profoundly disabled children in Hampshire. The appeal now stands at more than £2 million.

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