AROUND 170 guests enjoyed a fun-packed evening at System 6 Kitchens' charity ball.

The money-spinning event at Sandy Park was the highlight of the Marsh Barton firm's Dragon's Challenge fundraising efforts.

Organisers were delighted with the turnout and the amount raised for the NSPCC's South West Child's Voice Appeal, though the final total is not yet known.

Sarah McNamara, from System 6, said: "It was an absolutely superb evening. A lot of our customers, suppliers and business contacts came along to support the event.

"It was a huge relief that it went so well. When the formal part of the evening was finished, we all took a deep breath and could relax."

After a champagne reception, guests were entertained by cabaret singer Paul Lane over dinner before comedian Tank Sherman took to the floor. He also ran a charity auction which saw a signed Manchester United football go for £1,000.

System 6 is also appealing for people to donate old mobile phone handsets, which they plan to sell to raise cash for the appeal.

Elsewhere, leisure centre staff at Woodbury Park have completed a fancy dress treadmill challenge, covering 126 miles between them — the distance from Land's End to the hotel and golf club in East Devon — in just under 10 hours.

Dressed as cartoon characters, leisure centre manager Shane James, 34, personal trainer Chris Belcher, 27, and fitness instructor Giles Savage, 19, took turns to run for half-an-hour, starting at 1.15pm on Friday and finishing at 11am on Saturday.

Giles said: "The costumes made it incredibly hot. We completed 42 miles each." The trio have so far collected £258 in sponsorship from leisure centre users and colleagues.

With less than a month to go until the end of the challenge, Carrie Cardale, the NSPCC's South West corporate fundraising manager, urged contenders to send in their money as soon as possible — and to let her know about any Justgiving web pages so money raised there can be included in their totals.