EXETER University alumni have held a gala dinner  in memory of a fellow student who died suddenly at  the age of 20.

Former classmates from  the university’s St Luke’s  campus hosted the  fundraising dinner in London to honour the memory  of sports and science student Mike Polden, who died  of cardiomyopathy eight  years ago while running.

The black-tie dinner,  called the Lukie London  Formal, was the first of its  kind and proved such a success that it is now set to be  an annual event.

Organised by university  alumni Kwabena Asare, a  27-year-old banker;  Peter  Grayson, 24, a trainee solicitor; and Natalie Joyner,  24, a sports tour organiser;  the dinner at City of London School, near St Paul’s  Cathedral, raised £2,105 for  the Cardiomyopathy Association, a charity which offers information and support to affected families.

With 160 guests spanning  22 intakes of St Luke’s students, the evening included  a champagne reception,  four-course dinner and entertainment from a jazz  quartet.  Later in the night  guests let loose on the  dance floor with a disco.

Organiser Peter  Grayson, who studied law  at Exeter University, said  he and his friends hope to  make the Lukie London  Formal a tradition.

He said: “When I graduated and moved to London  I realised there were no  alumni events specifically  for St Luke’s.

“I had a chat with a few  friends and we decided we  wanted to put on an event,  but we also wanted to have  a reason for doing so.

 “There was never any  question about the charity  we would support.

 “Everyone wanted to  hold it in memory of Mike  and he was a friend of  Kwabena’s.

“Cardiomyopathy is a  disease of the heart muscle  and often affects young people, including sportsmen  and women, so it seemed  very relevant to us.”

Richard Winsley, a senior lecturer at St Luke’s  who taught Mike, spoke at  the dinner along with the  CMA’s chief executive.

Items  auctioned included  a signed Manchester United football, a signed England rugby shirt, a Ferrari  test drive, three months’  membership at Virgin Active gyms, a day at the races   and an England RFU international ticket.

 “I wrote to over 100 different firms and institutions asking them to donate  prizes and we got a good  response,” said Peter.

“We concentrated on  sport because cardiomyopathy is a condition that  affects the sporting world  in particular.”

He added: “Anyone who  went to Exeter University  is welcome to come.  We are  hoping more and more people will attend the dinner  each year.  The charity  means a great deal to St  Luke’s students past and  present.”

For more information  email peter-grayson@hotmail.com or visit www.cardiomyopathy.org.