A TRADITIONAL Burns' Night supper has raised thousands of pounds for the Samaritans in Darlington.

Organised by Meg Niven in memory of her architect husband, Rob, the supper was the third held since his death in 2002.

About 150 of the Nivens' friends, family and colleagues attended the event at Headlam Hall, near Gainford, helping to raise more than £3,800 for the Samaritans, one of the charities Mr Niven supported.

"It was a great night, probably our best yet. There was a wonderful atmosphere from beginning to end and nobody wanted to leave," said Mrs Niven.

"It's always a seriously fun night, everyone enjoys themselves and we also raise a substantial donation."

John Bradshaw, director of Darlington Samaritans, said the donation would make an enormous difference to the charity.

"We have to raise £16,000 every year just to meet our running costs so for this event to raise nearly a quarter of that is a fantastic contribution," he said.