Mansfield Rotary president Kelvin Bowman has revealed the club’s Christmas sleigh raised more than £6,000.

He said: “On behalf of Mansfield Rotary, and importantly those who benefit from our charitable support, we again thank the public of Mansfield and district for their amazing support of our sleigh during December, whether it be outside the supermarkets which allowed us to use their facilities, or in Mansfield town centre, or when we were taking the sleigh around the streets of Mansfield and Mansfield Woodhouse.

“Despite the continuing difficult economic conditions faced by many people, we raised £6,053, which will be spent carefully and wisely in supporting many good causes.

“Once again young children gave us their pocket money, senior citizens gave us the change from their pockets or purses, some gave just a few coins, others put in notes, some used texts and others made online donations. All these added up to an incredible collection.

“It seemed that everyone was aware of the increasing needs of others in these harsh times and continued to give to help others worse off than themselves.”

Kelvin repeated the club’s thanks to businesses that gave their time and resources, and funded totally, the construction of the new sleigh the previous year — Laser Ltd, Quickits Ltd and Premier Powder Coatings, all part of the QK Group; TrimJim Custom Upholstery, Richard Austin Alloys, Total Integrated Solutions Ltd and Classic Print.

Asmech Systems loaned a flatbed vehicle to transport the sleigh around the streets.

Kelvin added: “Once again, the people of Mansfield and district have again proved the old adage that looking after the pennies does, indeed, take care of the pounds.”