A cracking comedy line-up brought a ‘whole lot of laughs’ to a Sidmouth crowd and raised almost £600 to help restore a paralysed builder’s independence.

Comedian Daniel FitzHenry organised the fundraiser at The Marine on Wednesday, October 7, and said he was ‘blown away’ by the generosity of everyone involved in the successful event.

The night featured a stellar line-up of names from the live comedy circuit, including Louis Burgess, Tom Glover, Adam Money and Richard James.

Headliner Chris Purchase is a Comedy Store regular and has supported Reginald D Hunter.

The event attracted a widespread audience – some of whom were first-timers to live comedy.

Daniel, who has a big following in Bath with his ‘Fitz of Giggles’ sessions, acted as compere.

He organised the night of stand-up to help raise money for his long-term friend Jake Pengelly, but said he could not have done it without the support of so many people.

Jake had a promising career as a builder, but was left paralysed after a split-second accident when he performed a flip at home.

His friends have since rallied to raise money to help Jake regain his independence by funding power-assisted wheels for the 28-year-old’s wheelchair.

Following the fundraiser, Daniel said: “I am honestly blown away by people’s generosity.

“Firstly, thanks to Philip and Sarah at The Marine for hosting the night, selling tickets and raffle prizes and generally being absolutely superb.

“Secondly, a big thanks to everyone that came down to support, lots of people I hadn’t seen for ages and in some cases people who’d never even been to comedy before.

“And lastly, a very special mention to the absolutely fantastic acts that we had on.

“Each of them was kind enough to travel to the gig, give up their time and entertain the people of Sidmouth to support the cause.

“If you know comedy, you’ll know that this is a cracking line-up and I can’t thank them enough for coming all the way to ‘the Shire’.

“I was genuinely honoured to be involved.”

He confirmed the money raised will all go directly to Jake.

Daniel added his congratulations to the ‘absolutely brilliant efforts’ of the team who cycled the 500 miles from The Marine to Amsterdam to raise funds to pay for Jake’s power-assisted wheels.