An charity ball raised £4,000 for family-focused projects in the region.

Home-Start East Suffolk hosted the Snowflake themed event at Milsoms, Kesgrave Hall.

The black tie gala, which attracted more than 100 guests, was hosted by Town 102 presenter Wayne Bavin, with entertainment from Essex band, Soul Kitchen.

An impressive fundraising total was generated from ticket sales, opportunities to win prizes like a baroque pearl from Chevenix Jewellery, and from an auction, which saw one bidder claim a holiday in a Cornwall property.

Tara Somers, scheme manager for Home-Start East Suffolk, said: “We are so enormously proud to have raised such a great sum and to have received such superb feedback from our first event of this nature.

“We’re a small charity which achieves an awful lot for those who rely on us, so putting on a ball was always going to be a big undertaking. It has absolutely exceeded our expectations and done such a lot of good for us in terms of not only the fundraising revenue, but the chance to remind people what we do and how hard we work for families with children in the Suffolk community.”

Families using the Home-Start service may have fallen on difficult financial times, suffered bereavement, reached a crisis as a result of ill health, or have escaped domestic abuse. In all cases, the families have at least one young child in need of support.

Snowflakes are a symbol adopted by the charity to represent the fragility and intricacies of family lives.

Home-Start is looking for volunteers in Suffolk, or those interested in holding an event on behalf of the organisation. Email ella@homestartcoastal.co.uk or call 01473 621104.