A CHARITY ball held in memory of a Horton schoolgirl has raised more than £14,000 to support people who have suffered brain injuries.

The Jemima Layzell Trust’s flower ball, which was sponsored by Cooper Associates, was held on September 16 at Taunton School, where Jemima was a pupil.

Jemima died suddenly in 2012 from a rare brain aneurysm, and it was recently revealed that eight people’s lives had been saved by her donated organs and three people’s sight.

This makes her the donor with the highest number of recipients.

Among those in attendance were special guests and organ donor campaigners Lisa and Doug Johns, whose son Freddie received one half of Jemima’s liver and has just started secondary school.

Sophy Layzell, Jemima’s mum and event organiser, said: “We had only just met Lisa and Doug for the first time this week and we are so excited that they were able to attend the Ball.

“We have been in contact for several years, keeping up to date with Freddie’s progress and also campaigning for organ donation together.

“Our meeting felt very natural as though we are old friends. The Ball was the success it was, thanks to their amazing contributions.”

There were 142 guests in attendance. A game of heads and tails raised £455, a raffle of luxury hampers raised £770, and an auction hosted by Homes Under the Hammer’s Graham Barton raised another £7,370.

The top awards in the auction were a long weekend in France donated by Linda Piggott-Vijeh, a week in Cornwall donated by Nikki Crumpton, and a tasting menu at Theo Randall at the Intercontinental.

Lisa Johns said: “It was an amazing evening, we had such fun. Next year we will definitely host a ball in Malmesbury for the Trust.

“All our friends who came to the ball are very keen to get involved, so hopefully we can make it as much of a success as Saturdays.”

The Jemima Layzell Trust helps young people with brain injuries by providing specialist equipment and funding therapy treatment.

The charity also works to raise awareness for organ donation by holding an annual creative writing competition, judged by their patron Michael Morpurgo.

The Flower Ball is the second biennial event, with the first event in May 2015 raising around £10,600.

The event was sponsored by Cooper Associates, Santander, Sykes Timber, Topline Glass and Glazing, and Ram Scaffolding, and the final total raised was £14,088.

The luxury hampers were donated by to Brown and Forrest Smokery, Spar Ilminster, Tesco Ilminster, Pynes Butchers, Silver St Dairy Ilminster, and Frobishers Juices.

Music on the evening was provided by the Topp family, and the night finished with dancing to live band The Cadence.

For more information, visit www.jemimalayzell.com or call Sophy on 07765 253294.