Celebrities are celebrating after a charity ball raised £68,624.

A List stars ditched traditional ball-gowns in favour of aviators and wacky steampunk costumes for The Odd Ball, staged by married actors and champion fundraisers James Murray and Sarah Parish.

As previously reported by the Daily Echo, the ball – held at luxury venue Hilton Ageas in Eastleigh – was in aid of the Murray Parish Trust’s Two Million Steps campaign, which aims to raise £2million for a dedicated children’s A&E department at Southampton hospital.

It was organised by Sarah Parish and James Murray, who said: "We're chuffed to the nines with how much we raised at the Odd Ball.

"Everyone pulled out all stops to make sure it was even more riotous and fun than the last.

"We can't wait for the next one!"

The event was set to have raised tens of thousands of pounds for the Two Million Steps campaign, launched by married actors James Murray and Sarah Parish with a target of £2million.

Celebrities supporting the event included Wild at Heart's Stephen Tompkinson who helped compere the evening, actors from the cast of the TV show Trollied, as well as BBC South Today news presenter Laura Trant.

Entertainment included stilt walkers, hula hoop dancing, and Britain's Got Talent stars Stravros Flatley.

The #2millionsteps campaign follows the successful Say Yes George initiative which saw the then Chancellor George Osborne pledge to match monies raised for the children's A&E to the tune of £2m.

The setting for the ball was the Ageas Hilton Hotel and guests learnt of a new campaign to be launched soon which will see Hampshire's Barker Mills Trust joining with the Daily Echo to raise money towards #2millionsteps Sarah Parish told guests that Barker Mills would match fund monies raised in the Echo appeal to the tune of £40,000, which when matched again by the government would see a total of £160,000 raised.

See themurrayparishtrust.com and http://leela.pixieset.com/theoddball2016/ for more information.