People may have arrived in fancy wellington boots and snowsuits but they got there and helped to raise a staggering £2,800 for CRY and Bexley police cadets.

We started once again with a raffle and had some fantastic prizes donated by Island Records, Starbucks, Millwall FC, Holiday Inn, the Paul O'Grady Show, Sainsbury’s, T.K Maxx, Pizza Hut, Acadia Group, David Lloyd, Watford FC, Canon Printer from Blutex, theatre tickets for Oliver Twist from The Really Useful Group, We Will Rock You tickets from Nederlander Dominion Ltd and Staplehurst Road Garage who donated a free MOT. Sarah Coleman and Becky Townsend also donated free haircuts and colours.

Thanks also to Katie Locke for supplying invitations; Inspirations in Bexleyheath for donating a large CRY heart balloon; and wines and spirits were greatly received from various people.

The highlight of the night was definitely the auction undertaken by Paul’s dad, Steve. The auction included a signed football from Arsenal FC and a signed England shirt generously donated by the F.A. where Paul did his work experience in 2001. These two items alone raised £900 pounds and we would like to express our sincere thanks to the winning bidders. HSBC also contributed £500 to our fundraising, which we are very grateful for.

The night was filled with emotions, family and friends reflecting and remembering Paul and what he meant to them, celebrating his life and celebrating what would have been his 24^th birthday in a manner that Paul would definitely have approved of.  It was certainly a memorable night.

We will continue to raise money in memory of Paul every year on his anniversary/ birthday and would like to thank all Paul’s friends and family for making this possible.

Pam Oates (Paul's Mum)