A DRUG charity is today £2,000 better off after a special rock night.Around 200 people dug deep at the charity night to raise money for the Iceni Project in Ipswich.

A DRUG charity is today £2,000 better off after a special rock night.

Around 200 people dug deep at the charity night to raise money for the Iceni Project in Ipswich.

Police band Anything But Ordinary took to the stage at the Suffolk police headquarters in Martlesham and a charity auction was also held, raising more than £700, along with a raffle that brought in £400.

Derek Barrell, a police force welfare advisor who was one of the organisers, said they had decided to stage the event to raise awareness and cash for the Ipswich charity.

He said the importance of Iceni had been highlighted since December when the bodies of five women were found around the Ipswich area.

Red-light killings victims Tania Nicol, Gemma Adams, Anneli Alderton, Paula Clennell and Annette Nicholls were all known to be drug users and all worked as sex workers in the town.

Mr Barrell said: “We are all suddenly more conscious of the need to support people with drug addiction.

“We are also more aware of the importance of having organisations such as the Iceni charity to help people. Their work is so important.”

He added that many police officers spend time at the Iceni project as part of their probationary period and get to see the work that goes on there.

He said: “They are very special people doing very special jobs.”

The event took place on Friday night. Mr Barrell said: “The room was packed, it was a really great night.”

Are you raising money for a good cause? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.

The Evening Star and Ipswich Borough Council are raising funds for vulnerable young people in Ipswich following the deaths of the five women last year.

The Somebody's Daughter appeal was launched to remember the victims of the red-light killings - and thousands of pounds have already been pledged to the fund.

The cash will be used to fund the building of a refuge in the town to try to break the cycle of drugs and prostitution.

Donations to the memorial fund can be made online at www.eveningstar.co.uk, in person at Ipswich Borough Council's customer service centre in the Town Hall, by calling 01473 433777, or by sending a cheque, made payable to Somebody's Daughter Memorial Fund, to PO Box 772, Ipswich Borough Council, Grafton House, 15-17 Russell Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 2DE.