The third annual Sam White Legacy Gala Dinner was held at the Cedric Ford Pavilion, Newark Showground.

An auction and raffle at the dinner raised about £10,000 on the evening, which will go to the Children’s Brain Tumour Research Centre in Nottingham. Since then, the total from the event has risen to more than £15,000.

Auction lots included two tickets for the upcoming England v Holland friendly, a hospitality package for a Nottingham Forest home game, a signed Forest shirt, a signed Chelsea FC football and an England cricket shirt signed by Joe Root. A signed copy of Full Circle by Ellen MacArthur was also among the lots, as Sam used to sail with the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust.

Mingling with the guests, the sporting celebrities at this year’s dinner included Olympic bronze medal-winning gymnast Sam Oldham, Paralympic gold medal-winning swimmer Ollie Hynd and Paralympic silver medal-winning swimmer Charlotte Henshaw.

Nottingham Forest’s Chris Cohen and Eric Lichaj, Millwall striker John Marquis and Brighton and Hove Albion centre back Lewis Dunk also attended.

The dinner is organised by Sam’s parents, Mike and Pam White, but the original idea for the gala dinner came from Sam, as he loved sports.

Mr and Mrs White spoke about the work of the charity during 2015 and said the Sam White Legacy had paid for six families to go to Center Parcs. They planned to fund another six family visits this year.

The legacy has also paid for a mock MRI scanner for the children’s unit at the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham, which helps patients prepare for the real thing, and has also raised £30,000 for wall art at the unit.

Mike said:

“We are fortunate because we have attracted Olympians and Paralympians who are all training for Rio and world championships. They have sacrificed their time for us.

“There are other sporting celebrities who wanted to come this year but couldn’t make it and they have said they will come next year.”