TEAMS of bowlers have been taking to the greens for a day of bowls to raise hundreds of pounds for Julia’s House.

Having nominated the children’s hospice as their charity of 2016, Chippenham Park Bowls Club threw a tournament to raise money, with 14 teams playing throughout the day.

The competition raised £800 through entry fees, donations and prize draws on top of the event, in which Chippenham Park Bowls Club came out as victors.

During the match a light hearted fines system was introduced whereby the captain fined players for any errors noticed during the day.

Captain, Stewart Allison, said: “We played various games and collected money. Every year we pick a different charity and Julia’s House was really just the one we picked this year.

“People came from all over, from loads of different bowls clubs. We had one set come out from Southampton.

“Around 45 people turned up and it was a good fun day for everyone involved. My team won it and it was not contrived in anyway.

“We were just too good for them all. We also had a proper sit down lunch and then after the game was all finished we had a raffle.”

This was the first of many fundraising events for the club, who plan to continue throughout the bowls season and will present a final total to Julia's House in September.

The tournament started at around 10.30am on Saturday, June 18 and did not finish until late into the evening, with another bowls match set for Saturday, July 30.

“The weather was great as well which is always a bit of a bonus. Bowls people are very generous,” he added.

“We want to thank all who donated so generously both with money and their time to help on the day, especially those who prepared lunch."

Community fundraiser for Julia's House Wiltshire, Jan Burns, said: "It is amazing for them to do and we rely very heavily on the support of the community in Wiltshire for the amounts of money they raise for the hospice.

"With only 5% of our funding coming from the government that leaves 95% to be raised from other areas and that comes from the generosity of the community.

"We are very busy across the whole of Wiltshire raising awareness and holding talks in the county spreading word of the new hospice in Devizes."