A group of Hartlepool travel agents have raised more than £600 for a local school after organising an 80s themed charity night at Seaton Cricket Club.

The Hays Travel team from Middleton Grange Lane organised the event to raise money for Springwell School, a special school for children with severe, moderate or profound multiple learning difficulties. 

More than 30 guests attended the charity night on 25 September, where they enjoyed a quiz, raffle, bingo and a DJ, raising a total of £644 for Springwell.

Hays Travel branch manager, Kirsty Wilson, said: “Every year we do a charity coach trip taking customers to the Christmas markets, but this year we wanted to do something different, so we decided on an 80s charity night.

“I can't describe how nervous we all were as this was something we hadn't done before, but once the ball got rolling everyone had a great night!

“We chose to raise money for Springwell School because they are very local to us and they struggle to get funding. We are very grateful to all the people who came and showed their support – we can't thank them enough. 

“Bring on next year's charity event, which will be even bigger and better!”

Hays Travel is the UK’s largest independent travel agent, with branches across the UK – all committed to supporting their customers and the local communities they serve.

Each Hays Travel branch is provided with a £500 budget to use for fundraising and charity work in their local area; £200 of this is to be used to fundraise for charities which support young people’s mental health, and the other £300 can be used for charities chosen by the branch.

In the last year, Hays Travel’s Local Community Partnership initiative across its retail network has donated almost £170,000 to local charities.