A FUNDRAISING balloon race has raised £300 to help communities in the developing world.

GROW Care Agency chose Oxfam's Unwrapped programme to benefit from the charity event, which was launched at the Brookvale Independent Living Centre in Simister, last year.

Balloons were sold at £1 a time and the balloon that travelled furthest was bought by Margaret Fletcher, the owner of Cornucopia gift shop in Holcombe Brook. Mrs Fletcher was then presented with her prize of a Dyson vacuum cleaner, donated by CK Home Applicances in Bury.

At the presentation at the Oxfam shop on The Rock, Bury, Mark Bradley, managing director of GROW, liaised with Mrs Fletcher to choose items to help the developing world, such as a six month supply of medicines, two goats, two calves, a fully kitted out allotment, 200 school dinners, a toilet and two essential hygiene kits.