5:29pm Friday 5th February 2010
A special benefit concert held last night in Keswick's Theatre by the Lake has raised around £12,000 for the victims of the Cumbria floods and the rescue organisations who helped out in the emergency.
The Concert for Cumbria, which was sold out, included a moving tribute from actor Brian Blessed to PC Bill Barker, who died when Northside bridge in Workington collapsed. Singer Lesley Garrett also starred alongside the Cumbria Youth Orchestra and leading pianist Andrew West.
The concert, which was organised by Cumbria County Council, has helped build on the already considerable fund raising efforts in the aftermath of the November floods. The £12,000 raised through ticket and programme sales and charitable donations is being shared 50/50 between the Cumbria Flood Recovery Fund and the rescue organisations who helped keep people safe when the floods hit. These include RNLI, Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association, Bay Search and Rescue, Red Cross, North West Air Ambulance, International Rescue, RSPCA, The Police Dependants Trust, The Fire Fighters Charity and St John's Ambulance.
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