THE DORCHESTER Lions Club is celebrating the roaring success of its latest collections.

The club has been busy raising money and donating funds over the Christmas period and into the new year.

Members’ efforts included collection days at the county town’s Tesco store and in South Street, which raised a combined £655 thanks to the generosity of shoppers and visitors to Dorchester.

From those funds the club decided to make a donation of £250 to the Dorchester Disabled Club, with the remainder going to other worthy local causes.

There was more cheer spread at a Lions event at the Poet Laureate pub in Poundbury, where cheques for £600 were presented to both the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance and the West Dorset branch of Diabetes UK.

A Lions spokesman said the club wanted to thank Alex and Nicky Ford from the Poet Laureate for their continued support of its efforts and their charitable endeavours.

The spokesman said: “The bottle collection from the Poet Laureate raised over £60, kindly donated by customers of the pub through the year.

“This donation will be used by the Lions to restock supplies of ‘Message in a Bottle’ canisters.

“These small, sealed, labelled containers allow individuals to store details of their prescribed medicines in a safe and secure place – often in the fridge – and can be used for reference by healthcare professionals and carers in times of emergency.

“The Lions are proud of their long association with this excellent programme. “The bottles are free to all and ‘Message in a Bottle’ can be found in most local surgeries and pharmacies.”

There is no let-up for the Lions as members’ attention now turns towards this year’s Fun Run on Sunday, May 10 – it promises to be bigger and better than ever.

More information about the event can be found online at lions dorchester.org.uk The Lions are always on the hunt for new members and anyone interested in getting involved can call 0845 833 2836 for an informal chat or send an email to info@lionsdorchester.org.uk for more information.

As well as helping to plan and organise fundraising events, the club also meets regularly for social events and offers people the chance to meet others with a mutual interest in supporting their community.