GENEROUS theatre-goers have raised thousands for a North-East hospice by donating to bucket collections at a pantomime.

More than £5,000 has been raised for St Teresa’s Hospice through the nightly collections during the five week run of Aladdin, at Darlington Civic Theatre.

Cast members were on hand to visit the hospice and hand over a cheque to chief executive Jane Bradshaw, before they were given a tour of the facilities and were introduced to some of the patients.

The appeal to support the hospice is a tradition at the Civic Theatre panto and, with a few more shows still to go, it is hoped that the collection total could still reach £6,000 for the charity.

Ms Bradshaw said: “The support given to St Teresa’s Hospice by everyone involved in Aladdin has been magical.

“I’d like to use my three wishes to wish a big ‘thank you’ to the cast and production company, to the team at the Civic Theatre, and of course to the wonderful audiences for being so generous.”