AN INCREDIBLE £33,000 has been raised for charity by a golf day organised by two friends from Almondsbury and Wotton.

The event, organised by former business partners Roger Riggs from Almondsbury, and Dave Timmins from Coombe, near Wotton, saw 96 players take to the fairways of Filton Golf Club on September 6.

Of the proceeds from the day, more than £30,000 has been given to Willow, a charity organising special days out for very ill young adults.

The pair have helped raise more than £750,000 for the charity since 2005, following a chance encounter on holiday between Roger and the charity’s founder, former Arsenal goalkeeper and TV presenter Bob Wilson.

Bob and his wife Megs, who both took part in the golf day, created the charity in 1999, in memory of their daughter Anna, who died of cancer, aged 31.

As well as the donation to Willow, a further £2,500 donation was also made by the organisers to St Peter’s Hospice.

Beginning the charity round with a “shotgun start”, the players were divided into teams of four, with Megs Wilson teaming up with Barry Hooper and Thornbury Cricket Club players Dan Davis and Jason Riggs, Roger’s son, to take the victory.

“The day was a lot of fun and it was great to meet a lot of nice people,” said Roger.

“We had hoped on the day we could raise £20,000, so to raise this amount is fantastic.”

He added: “It takes a lot of work to put on an event like this and with everyone having their own cause that is dear to them you can’t expect everyone to be so forthcoming in wanting to help.

“It is hard to keep asking the same people, but we are so thankful that each time we have done so, people keep giving us an unbelievable level of support.”

Following the round, guests were treated to a dinner at the club and encouraged to bid on a range of incredible auction prizes, including golf days with Bob and the likes of David Seaman and Kevin Keagan, tickets to rugby, football and cricket matches, holidays and Aston Martin weekends.

Thanking everyone who attended, Roger also paid tribute to the “incredible” Wilsons for their enthusiasm towards the event, and for “just wanting to help in any way they can”.

He added that Bob had even taken some time away from the dinner, after the main course, to give a 15 minute football coaching session to the 12-year-old son of one of the guests, who plays in goal for his local team.