GARDENERS have raised over £600 for a Winchester family support charity.

Mark and Jackie Porter opened their garden at The Down House in Itchen Abbas for tea, coffee, cakes and gardening discussions.

Over 100 keen green-fingered enthusiasts attended, raising £690 for Home-Start Winchester and Districts. The charity works with families with at least one child under five and deals with loneliness, isolation, ill health, disability, behavioural problems or other issues.

Event organiser Gill Longman said: “We are so grateful to Mark and Jackie for allowing us the exclusive use of their garden. It is a joy to visit, with plenty of shady seating areas and the garden is beautifully organised with all the essentials like parking - and even a tea room - so that guests can make the most of their visit.”

On August 24 there will be a car boot sale at Bramdean, and another open garden at The Hyde, in Old Alresford, from 2-5pm on September 14.