THE Grand Opera House, York, raised £4,254.57 for Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity, Brain Tumour Research, the Salvation Army, the Lord Mayor of York’s charities, York Hospital Dementia Appeal and SNAPPY from bucket collections at this winter's pantomime, Beauty And The Beast.

The total collected throughout the year during many of the Cumberland Street theatre’s performances came to £10,999.13, much to the delight of deputy general manager Clare O’Connor.

"After having made the decision to focus largely on local charities, we're absolutely thrilled to have raised so much for these very deserving charities over our pantomime season, and indeed over the financial year so far," she said.

"Our pantomime audiences have been more generous than ever; the proceeds of these collections will go a long way to help make a difference to the lives of others, and we look forward to working with more local charities in the coming months."