Star offer spices up charity ball

Touring with the Spice Girls means Mel C can't go to the ball

Spice Girl Mel C has joined efforts to raise money for repairs to a landmark clock in south Wales.

The Shire Hall clock in Monmouth needs restoration work costing £2,000 and the singer has offered to donate signed merchandise for a charity auction.

She was invited to a masked ball fundraiser, but work meant the singer - Melanie Chisholm, who lives in the nearby Wye Valley - had to decline.

She and the rest of the Spice Girls start a reunion world tour in December.

"I am not going to be able to attend the masked ball because of my touring schedule, but I hope you raise a lot of money to restore Shire Hall to its former glory," she said.

The masked ball, being held under the arches of the hall, is to try to raise enough money to cover the restoration costs of the clock.

The money raised will go to restoring the clock in the Shire Hall

Debbie McCarty from Monmouth's One Stop Shop said she had been overwhelmed by the support for the event.

"As well as Mel's contribution, we've managed to tap into the generosity of people in the town to get the ball rolling, so to speak," she said.

A photographer has said he will attend on the night for nothing and will also sell pictures of the guests in their finery, with 50% of proceeds going to the restoration fund.

"A local wine company has offered to use specially commissioned Shire Hall wine labels at no extra charge, the leisure centre are lending us staging and seating and the football club are lending us fencing.

"It's going to be the most glittering event Monmouth has seen," she added.

The ball is part of a wider effort to raise funds to restore the whole of the hall.