Audiences who donated to charity after watching the Cambridge Arts Theatre’s 2019 pantomime ‘Cinderella’ raised £18,000 for good causes.

The money was raised by audiences donating to bucket collections at the end of each show and this year's total is a £3,000 increase on the previous year.

The charities that benefitted are Cambridge Joint Playschemes, The Laughter Specialists, Headway Cambridgeshire, Macmillan Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital Paediatric Music Therapy, Prostate Cancer UK and Royal Society for Blind Children.

Also receiving a share of the cash was the theatre's in-house charity Panto Wheels, which enables students from disadvantaged areas and those with special educational needs to experience a trip to the pantomime.

Kat Collins, head of sales and marketing, said: "We are all delighted with the amount of money our audiences have raised this year, particularly as funds managed to surpass last year's total.

"The selected charities will benefit immensely and are extremely grateful for our audiences' generosity.

"From the theatre staff and Cinderella company, we extend a huge thank you to everyone who donated across the pantomime season."