A “FANTASTIC” night was had by all who attended the Cardiac Rehab Valentine Ball.

Held at the Alton Maltings last Saturday, the guests generously supported the black-tie event to raise more than £8,000 for the charity.

One of the major fundraisers of the year, Cardiac Rehab general manager Martin Lovell, said: “Without funding from government or the NHS we very much rely on events such as this to support what we do. We are so grateful for the generosity of those who came along and all the individuals and organisations that supported the event through donations and sponsorship.”

Cardiac Rehab is a local charity serving the local community, providing controlled, monitored and supervised exercise for people with and people at risk of heart disease.

Mr Lovell continued: “Our income comes partially from exerciser contributions but primarily from the generosity of the local community, without which we couldn’t be able to do what we do.”

Ball attendees were treated to a three-course meal followed by a charity auction, run “so very well” by Jerry Janes, increasing the amount raised on the evening.

Live music was provided by local band The Standards, who had everyone dancing until the end of the evening.

One happy guest said: “This has been such a wonderful evening and we are delighted to be able to support the work that Cardiac Rehab does.”

He went on to say: “I hadn’t appreciated all that the charity does, and I was shocked at the statistics for the number of people affected by heart disease.”

Heart disease remains one of the UK’s single biggest killers with around 200 people a day dying from the disease. The programmes run by Cardiac Rehab help those with or at risk of the disease to control their risk factors.

Mr Lovell went on to flag up the charity’s new lottery, saying: “We are always looking at different ways to boost our income and allow us to help more people, so our new weekly lottery is a great way that local people can have a bit of fun and support the charity.

“The weekly lottery has a jackpot of £1,000 each week and for £1 a week you have 10 chances to win.

“Cardiac Rehab can add a significant amount of income through the lottery this year with your help. Entry forms are available to download from cardiac-rehab.co.uk.

“Every additional 15 entries could help us to support another 15 people to avoid developing heart disease.”