An organiser of a mum’s group who are hosting a black-tie event for children has spoken of her surprise after it sold out within days of tickets being made available.

Steph Owen, 25, of the online group 50 Shades of Mum, said that they were not expecting the demand they have seen for tickets, but that they now hope to carry on the momentum and organise other events.

She said: “They’ve gone a lot quicker than we expected them to – about four days after advertising them, they’ve completely gone.

“We’ve spoke about potentially doing another one in the future, more of a summer one, so we can have some of it outside and stuff like that as well.”

The organisers are also hoping to persuade the management at Pinetrees Community Centre, where the event will be held, to open up another room and allow more kids to get dressed to impress.

With attendants ranging in age from four months to 10 years old, Steph says that many parents have bought tickets because of a personal connection with the Special Care Baby Unit at Great Western Hospital, who the event will raise money for.

She said: “A lot of the people who have bought the tickets have children who have spent time in the Special Care Unit, so a lot of people want to give something back to them.”