THIS year's Marriott Charity Ball raised around £40,000 for good causes.

The hotel played host to about 200 revellers for the ball, which is in its 14th year.

They paid £70 a head to attend the dance at the Piper's Way hotel, and boosted the total raised still further during an auction of goods donated by local businesses.

Lots included a signed England football shirt and various weekend breaks at Marriott hotels across Europe.

The total amount of cash raised was £20,000, and Nationwide doubled this thanks to its pound for pound matching scheme.

The ball, supported by the Evening Advertiser as well as Nationwide, has raised more than £360,000 for various charities since it was launched by Swindon Rotary Club in 1989.

The six groups to benefit are Swindon Arts, Breakthrough Breast Cancer, the SMASH Youth Project, St John Ambulance, Phoenix Mailing and Oak House in Wroughton.

Swindon Arts will use the money to send a community artist to work in primary schools, while the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Wiltshire group will continue to provide information and support.

SMASH, or Swindon Mentoring And Self Help, will finance an activities programme for teenagers, and Phoenix Mailing needs a printing machine to continue offering employment opportunities to people with mental health problems.

The St John Ambulance Swindon branch plans to buy external defibrillators which can revive seriously ill patients.

Oak House in Wroughton, which provides a service for people with learning disabilities and their families through short-term breaks, will set up a multi-sensory room to provide valuable relaxation and stimulation.

Rotary Club president Mike Bawden said: "I'm thrilled with the continued success of the Marriott Charity Ball. It was a very good evening."

The ball, a mix of dinner, dancing, socialising and donating money has become well established as one of the town's premier events, with guests clamouring to attend.