CIVIC leaders from Hampshire and neighbouring Dorset were among 180 people who converged on the plush Forest Room at Hoburne Bashley Park for one of the New Forest's big fundraising nights out.

But New Forest Council chairman John Hoy's charity ball was more than just a fundraiser. It was a night to remember with a carefully chosen menu and some of the best big band music on offer in the south.

The 19-piece New Forest Big Band, led by Doreen Bullwen with Angela Jackson as its vocalist, provided the entertainment and Councillor Hoy said: "I'm a big band enthusiast and I'm one of their biggest fans.

"I was always very keen on the music of people like Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Glenn Miller and this band gets very close to the sounds they made."

On the charity front, he said: "The proceeds are going to the Forest Bus, which is my chosen charity this year, and we are hoping to make a considerable amount for them although it is too early to say just how much."

The Forest bus takes community activities out to some of the more remote and deprived areas of the Forest and the district chairman said: "They do a wonderful job and they provide quite a range of activities.

Among the diners were New Forest West MP Desmond Swayne and his wife Moira. One of several supporters who turned up completed with a bottle for the raffle, he said: "I'm all for any kind of community function which raises money for good causes and the Forest Bus is a really good cause and helps people from all walks of life. We have people out there who are vulnerable and it makes a huge difference to their quality of life to have something like this.

"Tonight also provides an opportunity for people from all walks of life and different politics to get together and that can only be healthy."

Councillor Hoy and his wife Shirley had the support of vice-chairman John Hutchins and his wife Ann and chief executive Dave Yates and his wife Theresa. Mayors and council chairmen who attended the ball included Rita Burgess (Basingstoke and Deane), Heather Humby (Isle of Wight), Anthony Gentle (Test Valley), Brian Jupp (Rushmoor), Gordon Erlebach (Havant), Brian Parnell (Southampton), Jonathan Glen (Hart), Pamela Bryant (Fareham), Gillian Connell (Eastleigh), Chris Butler (East Hants), East Dorset vice-chairman Ann Warman and Sally Derham (Christchurch).