THREE friends from Bridgwater affected by a life-long condition have raised more than £3000 for a charity.

Charlotte Ricketts, with the help of her two friends Toni Kemmish and Alice Young, raised a total of £3772 for Crohn’s and Colitis UK.

Charlotte, 31, and her friends suffer from either Crohn’s Disease or colitis and were diagnosed at a young age.

She said that after their diagnosis they “became closer” and now they want to help and support other people who are suffering.

The event took place at Bridgwater Rugby Club on July 8 and included raffles, auctions, and live music.

Charlotte said: “We spent a few months organising the event because we all suffer from either Chron’s Disease or colitis.

“We are very, very pleased because it is a charity people are not very aware of.

“We sold 150 tickets and it was a really good evening, with raffle, auctions, live music. We wanted to raise awareness and not just money.

“We have all had treatments or major operations, there is no cure, but our quality of life is improving hugely.

“When I was younger, I didn’t want to speak about it. It breaks the stigma a little bit, but it is a life-long condition.

“I think it’s just vital to talk about it otherwise people who are suffering from it would suffer alone. “This charity does a great job and provides support and help. The more you talk about it, the better.

“We’ve done a few sponsored walks, but this is on another level.

“We [Charlotte and her friends] were in the same friendship group at school and we became closer because of the illnesses.

“We are here to raise awareness and help other people who are affected. We really are so proud to have raised this amount of money for a charity so close to our hearts and also to raise vital awareness of these conditions.”

CJ Hole Estate Agents and Pelican Healthcare supported Charlotte and her friends in covering the costs of the party so they could raise as much money as possible for the charity.

Crohn's and Colitis UK is a charity that has been supporting people that suffer from the two forms of inflammatory bowel disease called Crohn's disease and Ulcerative Colitis for over 40 years.

The charity's mission is to break the taboo around these medical conditions.

There are currently around 500,000 people living in the UK with these conditions - which is 1 in every 123 people.

For more information about the charity visit the website here.