A CLUTCH of local charities have had their coffers boosted - thanks to Bury Lions.

For £3,000 raised from the proceeds of June's Bury Carnival has been distributed among several charities and good causes.

The cheques were handed over at the Elizabethan Suite, Bury, when representatives of recipient organisations joined Lions officials.

Guest of honour was the Mayor of Bury, Councillor John Costello, who made the cheque presentations.

But the roles were reversed when he was presented with a cheque for The Mayor's Appeal by the president of Bury Lions, Mr Alan Wilde. Bury General Hospital's diabetic department received special diabetic record books, which were paid for by the hospital's slice of the £3,000 carnival cash "cake".

At the function, a certificate of apprecation was presented to Mr Stephen Crow, recently retired managing director of Chadwick's of Bury. The gesture was to say "thank you" for the company's continuing sponsorship of Bury Carnival.

The charities and organisations which received cheques were:

Bury District Scouts; St John Ambulance; Lifelong Learning Centre; Bury Hospice; Anthony Nolan Trust, Bury; Elton Fold FC; Speakeasy Club; Cystic Fibrosis Trust; Bury Stroke Club; Society for the Blind and Partially Sighted; Bury Samaritans; Bury General Hospital diabetic department; Mayor's Appeal and Bury Lions hospital radio.

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