SIR Tom Jones and Dame Edna Everage were the star performers at a spectacular charity bash held in the heart of a Cheshire village.
The lavish ball, which helped to raise a total of £1.5m for Help for Heroes, was hosted by multi-millionaire Malcolm Walker in the grounds of his Old Hall mansion in Broxton.
To the amazement of regulars at The Olive Grove pub on Nantwich Road, Sir Tom Jones – who was a surprise guest at the party – popped in for a pint of bitter just moments before his performance.
Stunned landlord David Hughes told the Chronicle: “It was a big surprise! He was a nice guy, really down to earth.
“He was in for about 20 minutes and posed for a few photographs. He had a chat and a bit of a laugh and a joke but kept it low key.”
Malcolm Walker, 64, the founder of Deeside-based Iceland Foods, organised the ball on Thursday night to mark the 40th anniversary of the opening of the company’s first store.
About 350 people attended the event, which included fireworks and water lasers, with suppliers paying £25,000 for a table.
The money raised from each table was then added to the £740,000 already raised by Iceland staff during the course of the year.
Mr Walker said: “It is truly staggering that we have been able to raise so much money in the current economic climate.
“This is a tribute to the truly inspirational work of Help for Heroes and the outstanding example of the incredibly brave young men and women that the charity exists to support.”
Help for Heroes CEO and co-founder Bryn Parry said: “We value every donation, every person doing what they can to help ‘our blokes’ – the men and women of our armed forces – but the contribution made by Iceland is extraordinary.
“I could not believe it when I heard that they had raised £1.5m and had done so with minimal fuss, just got out and done it.”
