A CHARITY ball in Wroughton saw the best in business from around the county put their best feet forward for a good cause.

The Wiltshire business community united to raise more than £10,700 for Wiltshire Air Ambulance at a charity ball organised by law firm Withy King, Barclays Bank and Excalibur Communications.

BT Sport and ITV sports pundit, columnist and former England rugby player, David “Flats” Flatman, compered the evening’s fund-raising activities, which included a charity auction and raffle.

The most popular auction lot was a Porsche driving experience at Silverstone donated by Porsche Centre Swindon, which raised £520.

Other lots included tickets to high profile sporting events, a helicopter ride, an overnight stay at a five star hotel in London – and the hire of a skip for a week.

A range of prizes donated by local businesses were also up for grabs in the raffle and there were other activities and games on the night to boost fund-raising still further.

The black tie event, which was held at the Alexandra House Hotel in Wroughton, Swindon, was attended by 130 people and included a drinks reception, three-course dinner and dancing to live music provided by band Paradox.

Rebecca de la Bedoyere, fundraising manager at Wiltshire Air Ambulance, said: “We are absolutely thrilled by the success of the charity ball.

“It was a fantastic night from start to finish, and all the guests rose to the occasion and dug deep in support of Wiltshire Air Ambulance.

“The teams from Withy King, Barclays and Excalibur worked incredibly hard to ensure that everything was meticulously planned, and we are so grateful to them for their support.

“Every penny raised will help us to save lives across Wiltshire and surrounding counties, and we’d like to thank all the organisations and individuals who helped by sponsoring the event, purchasing tickets and offering such superb auction and raffle prizes.”

Wiltshire Air Ambulance relies on public funding to provide a helicopter emergency medical service to anyone who lives, works and travels in Wiltshire.