PINK Floyd drummer Nick Mason and his wife Annette have helped raise a record amount of £88,000 for local charities following their Middlewick House Open Gardens event in Corsham earlier this month.

It is the largest fundraising tally achieved by the event, beating the previous best figure of £84,000 from last year. The money will be split between Wiltshire Air Ambulance and The Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust.

More than 8,000 paying guests visited the gardens of Middlewick House on June 3 and 4, enjoying the good weather, with the BBQ and cake stands proving extremely popular.

Visitors also enjoyed Nick’s stunning collection of high-performance and classic sports cars, as well as a host of stalls, including plants, gifts and clothing.

Both Wiltshire Air Ambulance and the Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust are charities close to Nick and Annette’s hearts; the pair are Ambassadors for Wiltshire Air Ambulance and Annette is Vice Patron for the Bobby Van Trust.
 
On both days, Mr Mason spent hours talking and signing books for queues of visitors before leaving the UK to tour with his progressive rock group A Saucerful of Secrets.  

Wiltshire Air Ambulance deputy chief executive Barbara Gray said: “We are so thankful to Nick and Annette for hosting this amazing event once more at their beautiful home.

“We were blessed with incredible weather and we are so grateful to the thousands of people who turned up across the weekend to support our charity and the Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust. 

“The money raised is a huge boost to support our work, as we continue to save lives across Wiltshire, Bath and surrounding areas.” 

Jennie Shaw, director of The Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust, said: “The Masons' support of the community never fails to amaze me. They are private people who for a weekend share their time, their home, gardens and their very impressive car collection with visitors.

“Nick and Annette chatted, signed autographs and mixed with their visitors. They were also joined by Nick's daughters, their families and friends. 

“I must thank their neighbours and all those living on Middlewick Lane for coping with thousands of cars descending on their quiet lane one weekend each year.

“I should also like to thank Gist Environmental for their provision of all the waste management and services on site, plus Kennet Furniture Refurbiz of Devizes for the loan of refrigeration units.

“Finally, I would also like to thank all the volunteers, the traders and visitors who make the day fun and rewarding for us. The weekend broke another record and not the vinyl type!”