ALMOST £5,000 was raised last week for County Gazette-backed charity Somerset Unit for Radiotherapy Equipment.

More than half - £2,650 - was donated to SURE, which equips the Beacon Centre cancer unit at Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, by the owners of Bishops Lydeard Mill.

The cash was a share of the profits raised by the visitor venue throughout the year.

There was also £848.16 from Wellington solicitors Porter Dodson, which had SURE as its charity of the year, putting on various fundraising initiatives.

Burnham and District Model Railway Club gave £525.26 from the sale of a model railway wagon in the form of a a replica of a Walls ice cream tanker.

Donations of 5p coins included £2 from Jean Leeming; £6 from Pat Willougby; £12 from Creech St Michael WI; £45 from Joanne McNulty, of Chard, family and friends; £15 from a group of women in Westonzoyland; and £5 from Maureen Ward.

Left at the Beacon Centre was £25.65 from Roger Parr, which included £9.65 in 5ps; £57.10 from Alison Timmins included £50.40 in 5ps; and £117.40 from the Beacon Centre was mostly in 5ps.

There was £25.84 in loose change from Polly and Bob; a £60 donation from the Beacon Bunch Lunch Club of Chard from its bi-annual get together; and £500 match funding from the Lloyds Bank Foundation following a quiz run by the Victoria Park Bowling Club.

A collection pot totalled £62.19 at Tesco Express, Priorswood.

The week's total is £4,956.90, bringing the total raised since the Gazette teamed up with SURE to £719,979.53.