MEMBERS of a performing arts society have hosted a series of successful fundraisers to fund vital research to help find a cure for brain tumours.

With team of more than 40 cast and 20 backstage crew, Bournemouth University and Arts University Bournemouth’s Performing Arts Society (PARTS) performed at three events, raising hundreds of pounds for the Brain Tumour Research charity.

The group staged original play "A Murder At..." and a Winter Showcase at the university's Talbot Campus, as well as Karaoke Nights at The Old Fire Station to collect more than £400 for the organisation, which was selected as PARTS' charity of the year.

Members of the society have a personal reason for fundraising as production designer Annabel Smith lost her dad to a brain tumour two years ago. Mark Smith, from Holmfirth, died just 22 months after his diagnosis with a grade 4 glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) – a highly aggressive type of tumour – aged 57.

Annabel, 21, who studies at Arts University Bournemouth said: “Losing my dad to a brain tumour was the hardest thing I have ever had to go through and having to watch someone you love deteriorate in front of you was heart-breaking.

"Going to university and being on the production team for PARTS has been a fantastic experience for me, and, as I know that other society members have been affected by this horrible illness, I selected Brain Tumour Research as our charity of the year.”

Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated Research Centres of Excellence in the UK and campaigns for the government and larger cancer charities to invest more in research into brain tumours in order to speed up new treatments for patients and, ultimately, to find a cure.

Visit braintumourresearch.org/ to find out more, or donate.