GENEROUS Hale artist Zita Elliot has held an exhibition of her work in aid of Christie Hospital and raised more than £2,300 for the charity.

It was her deep admiration for the work of the Christie Hospital that prompted Zita to sell her work in aid of the specialist centre.

"It was a two fold thing really, the first being gratitude that neither myself or my immediate family have needed the services of Christies. Secondly however it is for my friends who have needed the services of Christies, it is such a wonderful place and I am just full of admiration for the work they do," Zita told SAM.

"I paint for sheer pleasure and I'm very happy for such a good cause to benefit from something which gives me so much joy." She added.

The exhibition was held at Hale Library and Zita's work proved to be extremely popular.

She sold 38 out of the 40 paintings on display, with 22 being sold on the first day.

These raised £2,328 and a further £209 was collected through donations.

"The response to the exhibition exceeded my wildest dreams. I really wanted it to be successful because all the proceeds, after costs, were for Christie's," Zita said.

Zita has been painting for more than 12 years and is a member of the Altrincham Society of Artists.