THANKS to the support of Westhoughton residents, the Westhoughton Rotary Father Christmas collection raised £2,904.

The money will now be distributed to local organisations.

Westhoughton Rotary is also supporting the work of Rotary International in its campaign to eradicate the disease of polio.

There are now only five countries in the world where Polio still exists. Since the 1980s, Rotary clubs around the world have been collaborating to eradicate polio, and it is now only the most remote, war-ravaged locations where this has not been achieved. The public may soon be able to support this activity through charity collections in doctors' surgeries in Westhoughton.