CHAMPION charity fund raiser city accountant Phil Bessant ended the year on high by collecting £400 for his annual Christmas cake raffle.

Phil Bessant, MD of the of Caerau Road practice, has now added that figure to the running total, now standing at £66,516.29, that the business has raised for Newport-based St David’s Hospice Care.

The home-baked Christmas cake was won by Gary Howells, of Alfa Staff, Bridge Street, Newport.

MORE NEWS:

Mr Bessant, a solid supporter of St David’s Hospice Care, said: “We had a bumper year this year in terms of the events that we staged, which included a hugely successful evening with Wales rugby greats Sam Warburton and Rupert Moon.

“We’re now planning events for 2020 which, along with our regulars such as the wine and cheese, beer mile and Beaujolais day, will include a race day at Chepstow Races.”

The accountants, which has a room at the inpatient hospice at Malpas named after it in recognition of its charity work, adopted St David’s Hospice Care as its nominated charity in 2013.

“Everyone in the office gets involved in the effort to raise money for St David’s Hospice Care. The reason we started the fund raising is because we are passionate about giving something back to the local community as it is they that provide the majority of our income. Giving something back is very important to us.

“We chose St David’s Hospice Care as it is a very local charity, based in Newport as are we. We haven’t had any direct contact with the charity, thankfully, so we were free to offer support without feeling that we should or must. We thoroughly enjoy raising funds and have a whole lot of fun with our friends and most importantly our clients.”

Tania Ansell, of St David’s Hospice Care, said: “Phil Bessant and his marvellous staff have worked tirelessly over the months in their efforts to raise money for St David’s Hospice Care in so many different ways. Reaching the figure of more than £66,000 is a huge achievement.

“We’re so grateful to Phil Bessant Accountants as all the money raised will help us to continue to fund the vital work that we deliver free of charge to people throughout our community 24 hours a day 365 days a year.”