A MAGICAL Mad Hatter's Picnic is taking place in the grounds of a stately home.

The Alice In Wonderland-themed event will be held on the Lambton Castle estate near Chester-le-Street on Sunday, July 13 to raise money for the Newcastle-based disability charity The Percy Hedley Foundation.

The event, which starts at 11am, includes a picnic and charity walk in the castle grounds, used recently as the set of the BBC drama The Paradise.

It is organised by Nickie Gott, managing director of events company She’s Gott It, as part of the Challenge 500 campaign in which companies are asked to invest £500 to generate a larger sum for the charity.

She said: “Our offices are in the beautiful grounds of the Lambton Estate and we know it will provide the perfect location for this type of event which will delight families and people of all ages.

“We are going to stage a giant Mad Hatter's Picnic and also encourage people to do their own fundraising by undertaking a walk through the amazing grounds of the estate.

“The ticket price will be kept to only £5 per head and we expect these to sell out fast, but all money raised will go straight back to the charity.

“The ticket sales and sponsorship from the Mad Hatter's Walk will certainly help raise as much as we can for this amazing organisation"

For further information or to buy tickets, email events@shesgottit.com or ring 0191 3856619.