BURNING the Clocks enjoyed its most successful fundraising year to date, with more than £13,000 collected.

The total for the event on December 21 was double that made in 2015.

Bucket collections from volunteers on the night raised £6,098 – £2,500 more than in 2015.

In addition to donations on the night, crowdfunding raised £7,546 – with sponsorship from Chilli Pickle and ARKA Original Funerals.

John Varah, artistic director at Same Sky, the charity behind the event, said: “We want to thank everyone who came along to Burning the Clocks.

“We had an incredible turn-out on the night with over 20,000 spectators along the route.

“The weather cleared just in time for the event, the beautiful effigy burned brightly along with the lanterns at the end and the fireworks were as spectacular as ever.

“We especially want to thank the kind people who donated on the night, our 40 wonderful volunteer bucket collectors, Chilli Pickle and ARKA for their support and the 100 supporters who donated online to our crowdfunding initiative.

“We simply couldn’t make this spectacular annual event happen without their support.”

The December event also saw the first Burning the Clocks after party at Patterns in Marine Parade.

Donations continued to come in at the event, which was attended by, among others, the mayor of Brighton and Hove Councillor Pete West.

Other events running up to Burning the Clocks included a special lantern-making workshop run by Burning the Clocks sponsor ARKA Original Funerals.

For more about this year’s event, visit https://www.facebook.com/burningtheclocks.