A PRESENTATION of £500 was made on Sunday by Shakespeare Live to the Bobby Van Trust.

It was part of the charitable donation made annually by the amateur drama group, who perform one of Shakespeare's plays in the gardens of Lackham House, near Lacock, each July, and who have given thousands of pounds to local and national charities over their 27-year history.

Jennie Shaw and Zahra Joshan, pictured here accepting the cheque from Shakespeare Live chairman, Rod Moor-Bardell, thanked the group for their very generous donation and emphasised just how significant it will be in helping with their work, which is to provide practical assistance to elderly and vulnerable victims of crime in Wiltshire.

The group were assembled at Lackham for their first full rehearsal of The Taming of the Shrew, which will be on from July 6-11. Tickets are already selling really well for this ever-popular play, which is being set in the suffragette era just before the First World War. More details are available from www.shakespearelive.com, which also links to the online booking system, or from the box office on 07780 938107.