TEN months’ hard work paid off for three friends who raised almost £8,000 for a Hampshire hospice by organising a masked ball.

Harriet St Ledger, Sarah Langford and Georgia Thomas put on the event at the Solent Hotel in Whitley in aid of the Countess Mountbatten Hospice at West End.

The hospice had cared for Harriet’s grandfather and Sarah’s father.

The trio expected to raise around £1,500 but the event ended up bringing in almost six times that - £7727.80.

The ball was a sell out with 160 guests enjoying a three-course meal and dancing to live music from band The Who What Wheres.

Businesses donated prizes and lots for the charity auction and raffle, and electrician Ollie Duckworth donated his beloved dreadlocks.

His mass of hair, five years in the growing, was shaved off to the cheers of the ball guests.

Harriet, a healthcare assistant from Shirrel Heath, Sarah, a family support worker from Park Gate, and Georgia, a hairdresser from Hedge End, had no experience of organising such a big event but Harriet said they might have another go after they’d a had a year off.

The hospice’s fundraising co-ordinator Ruth Andrew described the trio’s efforts as “absolutely fantastic”.

“We are very fortunate to have such friends from the local community.”

She said the profits of the ball would help “over and above” services at the hospice such as the volunteer transport service, the tea bar, and the last request service.