A SNOW ball full of glitz and glamour raised more than £21,000 for Worcester's breast unit.

The 2nd Worcester Snow Ball on Saturday (December 3) helped bring a festive sparkle to the Worcestershire Breast Unit Haven.

The fundraiser surpassed expectation and provided an early Christmas present for the charity.

Organised by Breast Unit Events, a small Worcester-based voluntary group, the ball took place at the Bank House Hotel in Bransford where over 300 guests were treated to a Prosecco reception, three course dinner with wine, live band and disco, magician and casino.

Kate Butler and Susie Coleman, co-founders of Breast Unit Events, were two of the original calendar girls and charity patrons who helped launch the campaign to create the unit at 220 Newtown Road next to Worcestershire Royal Hospital in Worcester in October, 2009.

Since then both women have remained passionate and enthusiastic supporters of the unit and the work of Steven Thrush, the consultant breast surgeon who had the idea for the unit.

Both women had breast cancer surgery at a young age (Susie at 26 and Kate at 32) and both grew close because of their shared experience of enduring chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone treatment.

The women said in a joint statement: “The first Worcester Snow Ball in 2014 raised over £17,000 for the Worcestershire Breast Unit and this year our target was to raise over £20,000.

"Our charity raffle, auction and casino raised over £10,000 alone and we are so grateful to all our Snowballers for digging deep and helping us generate funds for this amazing cause.”

Breast Unit Events is run by Kate and Susie in their spare time and they seek the support of local businesses to help. The Bituchem Group sponsored the dinner and Harrison Clark Rickerbys and SJL Insurance sponsored the table wine at the ball.