A UKELELE club has raised a record of £10,000 for Parkinson’s UK in less than 12 months.

Almost 40 Worcester Ukulele Club members, who raised funds for the Worcester and District Branch over the year, will take part in a four-hour gig while city Mayor Allah Ditta will present the cheque to the charity.

Since the club voted to raise money for people with Parkinson’s and their families, ukulelists have strummed and sung their way through more than 100 gigs at various venues.

The £10,000 is the most it has raised for a charity in one year.

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Club chairman, Allan Corder, said: “For the period December 2018 to November 2019, the Worcester Ukulele Club chose Parkinson's Worcester Branch as its nominated charity.

“I am really pleased to report that we have broken the £10,000 barrier with numerous performances at festivals, fetes, concerts, care homes and private functions.

“We are very grateful for the support we get from club members and members of the public. I'm very proud to be the current chairman of the wonderful Worcester Ukulele Club. We have massive fun singing and playing, gigging and fundraising for charity.”

One player, Beverly Abbs, lost her husband John after he fought a brave battle with the disease six years ago. They were both former sub-editors at the Worcester News.

The presentation will take place in the CrownGate shopping centre on Saturday, October 26.

As the 12 months fundraising for Parkinson’s does not conclude until the Victorian Fair in Worcester next month it is hoped that the £10,000 total will be added to.

For more information on the club, visit www.worcester-uke-club.co.uk/

Parkinson’s is a condition in which parts of the brain become progressively damaged over many years.

Friendship groups are provided and also exercise classes; singing classes; yoga and hydrotherapy – all of which prove to help to slow the progression of Parkinson’s.

A spokesman for Worcester and District Branch of Parkinson’s UK said: “Local branches of Parkinson's receive no financial support from National, so the money raised will go locally towards supporting both people with Parkinson's and their carers, by way of subsidising the various classes that are held, as well as providing financial assistance, by way of a Small Grant Scheme, to support, for example, travel; respite care and various therapies.”