A mum who went to an Aberystwyth school has raised over £25,000 – with a little help from her friends – to say thank you for the ‘world class cancer treatment’ she received at Glan Clwyd Hospital.

Friends and family gathered at Wigfair Hall in St Asaph in May for a glamorous James Bond-inspired evening, entitled the SkyBall, to raise money for the North Wales Cancer Appeal, formerly the Ron and Margaret Smith Appeal.

Attendees from near and far arrived in style to the Skyfall-inspired evening, wearing tuxedos and ball gowns that would not have been out of place in a Bond film.

The organisers were galvanised into action when one of their close friends was diagnosed with breast cancer last year.

Kate Jackson of Aberwheeler, a mum of three young daughters, and a science teacher at Castell Alun High School in Flintshire, witnessed first-hand the amazing work at the Cancer Centre when she received “world class” treatment in Ysbyty Glan Clwyd.

The seven former Denbigh High School friends, Teri Clayton, Lynsey Blackford, Leanne Roberts, Erin Jones, Charlotte Varley, Cathy Howatson and Kate herself, who all turn 40 in the coming year, brought together a sparkling evening featuring live music, a casino and an auction of promises.

The evening managed to raise a massive £26,215.

Kate, who went to Ysgol Penglais in the 1990s and used to live in Bow Street when she was known under her maiden name Katie Price before moving to Denbighshire, said: “Last year when I received my diagnosis, having already lost my own Mum to breast cancer at this age, my outlook was bleak.

“I couldn’t be more grateful to the fantastic staff at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd for the incredible work they do."

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