THOSE are the touching words of an Andover woman who raised thousands of pounds for charity in honour of her late mother.

Karla Blake (pictured right), 25, sadly lost her mother Donna Gordon on December 22 last year during a Christmas holiday in Tunisia.

Donna (pictured left), who was a long-term sufferer of type one diabetes, fell into a coma as a result of the condition and despite efforts to revive her, she died aged just 44.

Now Karla has raised £1,800 for Diabetes UK after hosting a charity disco, raffle and auction evening in Donna’s memory. The event took place at Andover’s Royal British Legion, with more than 150 people turning out to show their support to Karla, her younger brother Rio, and Donna’s widower Jamie.

After coming up with the idea, Karla spoke to several organisations around the area to ask for their support.

Finkley Down Farm, the Hawk Conservancy, Wickes, and Thruxton Motor Circuit were among those who responded with gifts to use as raffle prizes. Even Liverpool Football Club, of which the family are fans, offered support by providing tickets to their museum tour.

Karla said: “We are really pleased with the turnout.

“We raised a lot more money than we thought we would and people were very generous.

“We’ve definitely done mum proud. Lots of companies helped us by donating raffle and auction prizes, we are so thankful to all of them for their support.”

Lewis Honeywill, south east regional fundraiser at Diabetes UK, was also delighted with the support.

He said: “We thank and appreciate Karla and her family’s fundraising achievement.

“It is truly a great accomplishment to have raised that amount of money in aid of our charity.

“Diabetes is one of the biggest health challenges facing the UK today and the money raised will help improve the care and support available for people affected by the condition.”

n To donate to Karla’s fundraising cause, visit justgiving.com/Karla- Blake1.