ST HELENS town hall was lit up by a colourful fashion show to help give 40 African schoolchildren the opportunity of an education.

The Colours Fundraising Fashion Show was held in aid of Africa's Children in Education (ACE) which was set up by retired Windle couple Ron and Sue Hayes.

The town hall hosted the informal, enjoyable and fun event which raised around £2,500 and saw bargains on offer and, following the show, the opportunity to try on and purchase items.

The ACE charity has been dedicated to creating a school for an impoverished community on the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, which opened in January 2013.

Called Arise Community School, it launched with one classroom, one teacher and 11 children. This year more than 240 children attended with seven classrooms and an expanded school kitchen.

The overall aim is to develop the school into a full primary school with 400 pupils and 10 classrooms.

After the fashion show event, Sue said: "Fashion and fundraising certainly proved a winning combination for ACE."

"The event was extremely well attended by nearly 200 women and we raised approximately £2,500 for the charity which was amazing.

"All of the money will go towards the cost of building another classroom at Arise School. It will enable a further 40 children to have the opportunity of an education.

"So many people, individuals, organisations and local businesses, contributed to the success of the event in so many different ways, including selling tickets, donating raffle and tombola prizes and volunteering on the night.

"A huge thank you to you all."

Sue added: "We wish to thank the council for making it possible to hold the fashion show in the town hall - a beautiful and prestigious Victorian building - and the manager of our local branch of Lloyd's Bank for his sponsorship and ongoing support of the work of ACE."

See acecharity.org.