EASTLEIGH residents old and new raise £1350 for charity in the Bird Aviary estate reunion.

Over 150 people attended the reunion, which was filled with generations of people who have lived in the Bird Aviary estate in an attempt to reconnect with one another, all while raising money for charity.

The ticketed event took place at the Locomotive Engineers Club in Eastleigh on Friday November 29, where £1350 was raised through ticket sales and donations and passed onto the Countess Mountbatten Hospice, who specialise in end of life care.

Founder of the event and the Bird Aviary Facebook page, Tony Darren Darling said: "The event was a major success. The whole thing has been brilliant, and it is great to rekindle old friendships, as well as starting new ones. We all hope the £1350 we have raised as a group for the Countess Mountbatten hospice helps in a small way for a very worthwhile cause."

Ticket sales accounted for £1250 of the total sum, while raffle tickets and donations from the people who attended the event made up the rest, and this was handed to the Hospice on Tuesday December 3 at 10:30am.

Chris Dawkins, who helped organise the event, said: "It was absolutely wonderful, I'm so overwhelmed. It was lovely to see so many old, delighted faces come together. Some of us haven't seen one another in years, even decades! It just reminds me that our estate really was and still is special, everyone knew everyone."

She added: "Due to the success of the event, both in terms of enjoyment and the amount raised for charity, a second reunion is already in the works, with the hope of having a bigger venue with more people, and raising even more for charity."