A DRAMA group has celebrated donating more than £10,000 to a vital Essex charity.

The Witham Amateur Operatic Society (WAOS) has handed over a large cheque for £10,775 to Farleigh Hospice on July 24 at Witham Public Hall.

The charity provides care for people affected by life-limiting illnesses, such as cancer, across mid Essex.

Funds have been raised for the charity through the society’s last production of Calendar Girls The Musical which ran from April 22 to 27.

Calendar Girls is based on the true story of an incredible group of women in a Yorkshire Women’s Institute.

The women famously posed for and created a daring 'nude' calendar to raise money for charity after one of the group’s husbands died from leukaemia.

WAOS raised the money for Farleigh Hospice through ticket sales, the sale of their own risqué calendar, quiz nights, an auction, and sunflower ball.

Nikki Mundell-Poole was the director for WAOS’s rendition of the famous play, she also came up with the idea to raise money through it.

She said: “I thought it would be a great idea to use the show’s central theme in order to raise money as a platform for a fundraising effort for a local charity.”

Moving forward, WAOS will next perform the musical, Salad Days, which will be running at Witham Public Hall from October 21 to 26.

To find out more about the society, visit waos.org.