COMMUNITY fundraising events in a town have raised thousands for a local sensory centre for children and adults with learning disabilities.

Pendragon Multi-Sensory Centre in Northallerton attracts families from as far as Newcastle and Hull to take advantage of its sensory facilities.

Its base on Thurston Road, on the Omega Industrial Village, uses the latest technology and the extensive use of sound and light to encourage and stimulate development and build confidence among its users and also enables self-expression and fun.

Recently, local people got behind the charity by donating thousands of pounds to the centre.

Handlesbanken, which opened a branch providing individual and corporate banking services in Northallerton in April 2016, handed over £5,500 from its first charity ball in the town.

David Thompson, branch manager at Northallerton, said: “As a local relationship bank, we want to be an active part of the local community.

“In the last two years, the Northallerton branch has supported a number of initiatives and we were proud to hold our first charity ball supporting the well-deserved charity, Pendragon.”

A further £10,000 was raised from Northallerton’s 10K run when 900 runners took part at the end of May this year.

“The centre is currently reliant on lottery funding and we are beyond delighted with the amount of money we raised and received from Handlesbanken,” said David Kerfoot MBE DL, chairman of the trustees of Pendragon.

“Such a significant amount of money gives us the breathing space to keep the sensory centre moving forward and providing even better service and facilities for our clients.”

Bookings are already being taken for next year’s Northallerton 10K, on May 26, with 150 places already gone.

The race starts and finishes on the town’s High Street and all proceeds raised through entrance fees and donations will go straight to the Pendragon Community Trust.

For details on The Northallerton 10k,2019 visit; Northallerton10K.co.uk