A SPICE night has raised almost £1,000 for three charities.

The Jaipur Spice restaurant in Thirsk, North Yorkshire held the night earlier this month.

Customers were asked to pay a minimum of £10 each for a five-course dinner, with the majority of proceeds, split three ways, and given to The Clock in Thirsk, Rescue Rucksacks in Richmond, and John Roberto Magee of Helping The Homeless, who received equipment.

Mr Magee was given 15 sleeping bags, hats, gloves, and snoods to distribute to the homeless across the area.

Owner of Jaipur Spice, Abdul Malik, said: "I was watching a TV show about the homeless, about a young who had died from the cold because he had nowhere to sleep at night. He was the same age as my own son. It really upset me, and stayed with me for a long time. It made me want to do something to help the homeless, so we felt this was the best way – the response was fantastic."

Mr Malik added: "We had two sittings and both were almost sold out. It was a lovely evening and everyone enjoyed themselves, but at the same time they knew they were helping local charities.

"I just want to say to everyone a big thank you – not just the people who came, but to all my staff that worked non stop on a very busy night, and to all the people that couldn’t come but brought a raffle ticket or simply sent a good luck messages."

Mr Malik said he was now planning to host another charity night over the next few months.