SHOPPERS in a York shopping centre have raised more than £5,000 for charity.

Visitors to the Coppergate Shopping Centre donated £5,703.97 to Jessie's Fund - a charity which helps children with complex needs through music and music therapy - paying for musical performances from the centre's Christmas Tree in December.

Sue Anderson Brown, centre manager, said: "The new decorations at the centre this year were truly beautiful. The musical Christmas tree was a unique spectacle for shoppers to enjoy and it really is wonderful to see how generous our visitors have been in raising so much money for such a great local charity.

"A highlight of my Christmas was definitely joining some of the young people that Jessie’s fund has helped, their friends, family and our shoppers as we sang Christmas songs around the tree. We are looking forward to continuing our relationship with Jessie’s Fund and seeing the great work this donation will fund."

Lesley Schatzberger, director and founder of Jessie’s Fund, said: "When the centre first approached us we thought it sounded like a wonderful opportunity but we couldn’t have imagined the level of generosity of the shoppers to the centre. We are quite a small charity and this money will go straight to children and young people who will really benefit."