HAVING a flutter during a night at the dogs saw one group of gamblers net almost £3,000 - and they promptly gave the money away.

CHILDREN in need will be helped after A CHEQUE for almost £3,000 was handed over to charity by the Swindon North Rotary Club, which raised cash from betting on greyhound racingduring a night at the dogs.

The greyhound event, attended by 120 people, was organised by the Swindon North Rotary Club and they presented a cheque for £2,935 to the NSPCC’s Swindon branch this week. The Swindon branch of the NSPCC, based in Victoria Road, is the nominated charity for the current Rotary year, with the £2,935 funds raised from a night at the Greyhound races attended by 120 people.

Attendees enjoyedgot to enjoy a VIP dinner and a flutter during the evening’s racesevening charity dog racing and dinner event held on March 16 at the Blunsdon Abbey stadium. The cheque was handed over at the Blunsdon House Hotel on Monday.

The cheque presentation, at the Blunsdon House Hotel on Monday, marks the latest in a series of fundraising events the Rotary Club has planned for their nominated charity of the year.

The money will enable the charity’s Victoria Road centrecentre to continue delivering four key services in the town including outreach to young children who have experienced sexual abuse, as well as parents expecting a child who are struggling or are in drug and alcohol recovery.

NSPCC Swindon fundraising manager, Caroline Morgan, said: “This is why I love my job, people get involved and the most important thing was knowing that everyone had a great night at the event.”

She added: “A huge thank you to Swindon North Rotary Club for all their efforts to support NSPCC this year. We really appreciate their time and dedication and as over 93 per cent of NSPCC income is from voluntary donation, it is fundraising such as this that ensures we can keep our work going”

Dave Collett, Rotarian and managing director at PG Events, which sponsored the event, said: “I have a great affection for the charity and the work they do in Swindon. I’m a good organiser so I thought we could do something fun, The night was excellent and to raise that much money in one night was a dream.”

“What’s most important is that everyone had a great time and were so generous with their time and their money.”

Ken Winslow, president of the Rotary Club of Swindon North, said: “The good thing about this charity is that they do so much for children in Swindon. The fact that everyone got involved, supporting us and had a great time in the process, we couldn’t ask for more.”

The club will organiseIt is a busy time for the centre with numerous fundraising activities planned including a charity swimathon held at Next Generation Fitness Centre in Kembrey, Swindon, at noon on Sunday, April 26.

Participants will see 50 per cent of their sponsorship proceeds going to the NSPCC with the rest going to a charity of their choice and the other to an organisation of their choice.

The eventSwimathon involves a team swimming continuously for 55 minutes with only one member of the team being in the water at a time.

It is supported by the Openwork Foundation, which raises money for disadvantaged children.

The Rotary Clubs of Swindon North and Swindon Thamesdown will also hold their 19th annual charity golf day at Ogbourne Downs Golf Club on May 16.

For more information or to sign up for the Swimathon, visit http://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/page.php?PgID=490698&ClubID=616 or email Caroline Morgan on Caroline.morgan@nspcc.org.uk.