AT the last concert of the summer by Polperro Fishermen’s Choir in their home village, the generous audience tossed more than £325 into the collecting buckets. 

It means the choir has raised more than £1,170 at five concerts this year, to be divided between two charities, Reverse Rett and the British Heart Foundation.

Research funded by Reverse Rett has identified the specific genetic mutation causing Rett Syndrome, a serious neurological condition mainly affecting little girls, and this has now been now reversed experimentally in the lab.

Clinical trials taking place in the UK offer the hope of treatment for all sufferers, including Lottie, the granddaughter of choir chairman David Lashbrooke.

Lottie’s parents, Ben and Debbie, said: ‘We are hugely grateful for the incredible fund-raising effort and also for the publicity, which is immeasurably important.  

‘Knowing that it is funding work to cure Lottie is such a moving thought.’

The British Heart Foundation funds research into coronary heart disease, the UK’s single biggest killer.

Helen Fox, of the Liskeard branch, said:  ‘That is an amazing amount. A huge thank you to the choir for supporting us.’