OUR 200 appeal for Julia's House was given its biggest donation to date on Friday night when a specialist cruise firm topped a night of success by bidding £10,000 for the right to brew and name its own beer.

Imagine Cruising from Swindon went away with two top prizes at the Wiltshire Business Awards organised by Newsquest Wiltshire - owners of the Gazette & Herald.

Managing director Robin Deller then made plain sailing of bagging the top lot in a silent auction by bidding £10,000 for the right to go behind the scenes at Wadworth brewery in Devizes and help to design and name a beer.

His company will be given 70 pints of the ale by Wadworth as part of the brewery's commitment to our appeal for Julia's House which will open a children's hospice in Devizes next year.

Mr Deller said he had little knowledge about the charity's work until Gazette editor Gary Lawrence outlines its wonderful work caring for children and supporting their parents.

He said: "We are always looking at ways to support our local community and the Prospect Hospice in Wroughton is our main Charity of the Year.

"When hearing more about Julia’s House it was felt this would work nicely alongside the hospice as it is focused on children.

"We were also keen to become involved as they are building a new hospice in Devizes and we can join the story at the beginning and get our staff involved in following the development of the hospice and the work involved."

He said that all of the Imagine Cruising staff at the awards evening at Center Parcs near Warminster were agreed it was a great cause and were looking forward to having fun designing their own beer.

Fittingly the company won the awards for services to the community and customer and staff care at the event.

Imagine Cruising operation supervisor Lisa Schvartz said at the ceremony: "We work so hard as a company and we really push the community and charity side of things, so it’s brilliant to be recognised for that. All the hard work we’ve put in has paid off.

“If you’re doing well as a business you should work with the people around you in the community, using your experience to help them. We always try to be as involved in the community as possible.”

Mr Lawrence and Ian Wadley the Wiltshire fundraising manager for Julia's House were both delighted with the amount raised by the auction lot and thanked both Imagine Cruising for their bid and Wadworth for donating the lot.

Mr Lawrence said: "It is fantastic. I couldn't believe how much it went for. We are very grateful for the support and know it will make a huge difference helping pay for carers to help sick children in Wiltshire."

As experts in luxury and tailor-made cruises, Imagine Cruising also offers a wide selection of exclusive cruise holidays to spectacular destinations, sailing with the leading cruise lines from around the world.