MORE than 80 guests enjoyed a wonderful evening at Tavistock AFC's Red & Black Club with Grand National legend Bob Champion.

Sponsors, officials and friends joined together to raise funds for the Bob Champion Cancer Trust which works to help cure cancer for men with testicular cancer and prostate cancer.

The evening started with a re-run showing of the 1981 Grand National which Bob Champion won on the famous Aldaniti where both horse and jockey had recovered from illness and injury to win the race.

Commercial manager of Tavistock AFC Allen Lewis, who organised the evening, said: 'It was like reliving the moment all over again and with Bob there watching with all of us, it was great!

'People were cheering and shouting Aldaniti on! Fantastic!'

It set the scene and atmosphere for the night to get everyone in the mood for the auction, where all profits would go towards the Bob Champion Cancer Trust.

June Smith and her team served a lovely three-course meal then Bob gave a speech about his life and the Great Race, going on to explain the work the trust was doing with stem cells.

He thanked Tavistock AFC for the evening and then handed over to Charles Scott, from Whiddon Down, for the auction of horse racing memorabilia and items donated by local businesses.

Aldaniti seemed to be in favour with the bidders and an original painting by Linda Slater, an equestrian artist who attended the evening, went for £520.

Red Rum winning the 1977 famous third Grand National went for the same, only to be topped by Aldaniti's head print signed by Bob Champion, which went for £600 to a member of Tavistock AFC.

The total raised for charity was £2,710.

Bob Champion, Phil Lowe, secretary of Tavistock AFC, and Wil Reed, event manager of the next Son-Rise Cup Football Festival in May 2010, did the draw of the 14 men's teams entered in next year's event.

Allen Lewis spoke of the last five years of work with Autism Awareness and the Son-Rise Program success story of his son, Paul.

Bob Champion signed a photo of himself with Aldaniti and presented it to Hayden Goulder from West Sussex who is on the Autistic Spectrum —Hayden came especially for the evening, hoping to meet Bob.

The evening ended with club chairman Derek Pethick presenting Bob with a cut glass tumbler, commemerating the night.