BREAST cancer support groups in West Dorset have received a welcome funding boost.

Local branches of the Royal Antediluvian Order Buffaloes (RAOB), also known as the Buffs, have been fundraising for several months for West Dorset Breast Cancer Support Group and handed over a cheque for a sum of £1,400.

Provincial grand secretary for the RAOB Les Cuff said that the funds were raised partly from a long-standing raffle, with tickets sold for as little as 25p a square over a six-month period.

The funds, combined with those from events such as a dinner and dance at the Trinity Club in Dorchester, meant that there was an impressive sum to donate to the chosen cause.

Mr Cuff said: “We ended up with quite a considerable sum.”

The West Dorset Breast Cancer Support Group was chosen by last year’s chief officer Michael Spicer as the charity for the year, with the RAOB having raised funds for the Diabetes Centre and other hospital causes in recent years.

Mr Cuff said that next year the chosen charity was Woofability, which provides dogs to support people in need.

He added: “I have been in now for 40 years and we have raised around £50,000 to £60,000 in recent years.”

The funds were handed over to breast nurse specialists Kate Kennedy, Anne Saunders and Lorraine Sers as well as representatives from the five local breast cancer support groups in West Dorset.

Nurse Sers said the funds will be shared out between each of the five groups.

Wendy Nightingale, who is treasurer of the West Dorset Breast Cancer Support Group, thanked the RAOB for its generous donation.

She said: “It will help everyone in West Dorset recovering from breast cancer or surviving breast cancer.”