GROUPS banded together to stage 12 hours of music in aid of a charity which helps the families of children in hospital

Cosmic Puffindoors Alldayer - a spin off of the usual annual outdoor festival held on Mersea Island - was staged at CODA, in High Street, Colchester.

Organisers expected to have raised more than £1,000 for Sonny’s Army, a charity started by two girls, aged 12 and 16, from Jaywick.

The pair started the campaign after baby Sonny-Lee, two, was born with an incurable congenital heart condition.

The group assists families in hospital with seriously ill children by providing them with boxes containing essential toiletries, travel expenses or funds towards medical equipment.

A spokesman for the festival said: “It was a lovely community spirited day with lovely people.

“Cosmic Puffin is all about charity, it is about supporting a good cause.

“These fantastic people helped to raise cash which will go a long way towards helping people.

“It was busy, I thought a lot of people wouldn’t come until later on as we were on from 12.30pm but there were good numbers throughout.

“We are still counting the totals, in terms of people through the door it was at least 150 and we expect to have raised at least £1,000.

“We will be doing this again next year.”