THE first Charity Golf Pairs Tournament held by West Devon charity CHICKS(Country Holidays for Inner City Kids) at Trethorne Golf Club raised a magnificent £1,837 last Wednesday.

The money will pay for free holidays for six local underprivileged children at the charity's headquarters at Woodside Retreat near Greystone Bridge.

Tracy Izod, who organised the event, said: "The day was sponsored by a total of 21 local businesses and they sponsored the event hole by hole.

'The main sponsors on the day were Bradleys Estate Agents who donated the trophy and medals, Ginsters who provided the refreshments and Castle Carpets and The Curtain Exchange who kindly sponsored the first hole. The event was fully booked with 64 players taking part.'

Most of the players were local but some had travelled from as far as away as Gloucester to take part, said Tracy.

'The course was in superb condition and with over £1,000 worth of prizes to play for it made for a very interesting day! Although mostly men competed, there were a few ladies playing and they said that they thoroughly enjoyed the event,' she said.

The eventual victors of the tournament were Steve Hillier and Rob O'Neil from Ginsters. They were the outright winners and carried off two Luxury Golf Trolleys. They were presented with the Bradleys/CHICKS Golf Trophy and the winners medals by the Manageress of Bradleys Estate Agents in Launceston, Valerie Taylor.

The runners up medals were awarded by Valerie to Malcolm Gifford and Rob May from Western Power Distribution in Bude, who each won a Wilson Golf Bag.

Winning a Bottle of Lanson Champagne each for the joint 'Longest Drive' were two CHICKS donors - M Smale from Gloucester and L Turner of Exeter. Winning a Case of Beer for 'Nearest the Pin' was D Bragg of Maybridge PLC in Tintagel.

Tracy congratulated everyone who entered the tournament and thanked them for supporting CHICKS.