Donations of £4,500 handed out from Community Carol Concert

DONATIONS totalling £4,500 have been handed out in the wake of the hugely successful York Community Carol Concert.

Proceeds from the 58th annual concert, held at the Barbican on December 20, went to three charities, with York Foodbank receiving £2,000 as The Press' nominated charity, the Lord Mayor and Sheriff of York's Christmas Cheer Fund getting £2,000, and York Hospital Radio gaining £500.

Concert organiser Graham Bradbury said: "We are delighted to support all these local charities who do such a wonderful job in the city for so many people.

"Of course, we could not make such donations if it was not for those local schools, choirs, bands and musicians who give up their free time to appear at York Barbican and of course the tremendous support we receive from our loyal audience who pack into the auditorium year on year to join in the festive celebrations."

Laura Chalmers, manager of York Foodbank, said: "It was a great event to be a part of and we are delighted with the donation.

"York Foodbank is normally totally funded by public donations, we don't apply for grants of local authority funding, so to get £2,000 in one go is a huge chunk of our running costs."

The traditional annual event marked its 21st year at the Barbican with performances by choirs from Heworth CE and Poppleton Ousebank primary schools, plus the Bev Jones Singers, York Concert Band and the Steve Cassidy Band.