THIRTY-THREE local good causes shared in more than £10,000 of funds on Tuesday when Devizes Lions Club handed over cash raised by walkers on their recent sponsored walk over Roundway Down.

Town mayor Coun Paula Winchcombe handed over the cheques at the presentation evening at Devizes Bowls Club.

Lions president Chris Clayton said the Lions were proud to have made the fundraising opportunity available to the people of Devizes and he was grateful to all the walkers and their sponsors who had given so generously.

Among the walkers was a team from the 2nd Devizes Guides, who raised £640. Their Guider, Paula Postlethwaite, praised the Lions for arranging the walk. She said: "It is a perfect opportunity to raise money without getting bogged down in organisation. All you have to do is get the sponsorship, turn up and walk."

Danbi Children's Trust, which provides equipment for disabled children, is another local charity which uses the Lions Sponsored Walk to raise money for its own purposes. This year its supporters raised £1,018 and group founder Jenny Rathbone was on hand to receive the cheque from Mrs Winchcombe.

The Lions will be at the Wharf tomorrow evening to welcome Father Christmas off a canal barge and will escort him to the Market Place where he will switch on the town's Christmas lights. Their carol float will also be starting its tour of the town next week.