FORTY six thousand pounds has been raised for a charity set up in the memory of a 29-year-old make-up artist from Hook.

At a spectacular ball more than 200 guests filled Audleys Wood Hotel in Basingstoke to the brim to support Victoria’s Promise.

The charity was set up in memory of Victoria Van der Westhuizen and last month’s ball was the the third Victoria’s Promise Annual Ball to be held, with fundraising more than doubling since last year.

The glamorous occasion saw guests enjoy a range of food, entertainment and auctions in their bid to raise money.

In late 2013, Victoria was diagnosed with an aggressive form of retroperitoneum cancer and died just two months later.

Prior to her diagnosis she had been raising funds for St Michael’s Hospice in Basingstoke where her late father, David Eastman, was previously treated for cerebral lymphoma.

It was during that time she decided to set up a charity having lost her grandmother to cancer and seeing her mother battle bowel cancer.

After Victoria’s family witnessed at first-hand the struggles that young women face during chemotherapy, as well as the aspects of care that were being overlooked, they began supporting these brave young women as much as they could.

Victoria’s Promise supporters dedicate themselves to providing care in areas they feel are currently under catered for.

They believe that women facing cancer treatment face a variety of challenges over and beyond the already daunting prospect of medical care and diagnosis, so aim to ease those concerns, by providing vital support in areas such as specialist skin care, chemotherapy beauticians, wig funding and counselling and advice services.

Alex Eastman, Victoria’s brother and co-founder along with mother Fiona and Victoria’s husband CJ, said: “People can be very isolated when going through treatment, so we say to them, you focus on getting better and we’ll take care of everything else.”

With 2015 fundraising coming in at £21,000, the 2016 total is a significant jump and Alex feels it is a sign of how big a community movement the charity is.

“It was an absolutely fantastic night, made so special by each of our beautifully benevolent guests. We are truly grateful for all that made it such an incredible success, our attendees, our sponsors, our raffle and auction donators.”

The Hook family and their team of 14 people have had a massive impact on young women’s lives since they began over three years ago, and Alex, who was delighted to welcome a new general manager to the team at the ball, was thrilled with their progress.

“It is extremely moving to me on a personal level to see just how many wonderful people came together to support our cause in such depth. To feel the love and encouragement in the room, the belief in what we are doing and the generosity of spirit, it was truly remarkable.”

For more information about the Victoria’s Promise charity, visit www.victori

aspromise.com.