Two fundraisers have retired on a high after a record amount of more than £3,000 was raised at an annual lunch.

Karen Barnard and Francesca Hurdley have been vice-chairman and chairman, respectively, of the Bridport Cancer Research fundraising group for seven years and were able to mark the end of their time with the group by raising £3,068 at the annual curry lunch at Highland’s End Holiday Park.

More than 120 diners enjoyed a selection of curries and puddings, all cooked by members of the Bridport fundraising team.

From 2004 to date, the curry lunches have raised £36,350 and the group are extremely grateful to Martin Cox for the use of the venue.

The pair are handing over their duties to Ann Ackerman, who takes over as chairman, and Lucy Fearon, who takes on the role of vice chairman, ably supported by the rest of the dedicated team.

They say they are ‘massively grateful for the tremendous help they have received over the years from so many towards this vital cause which funds research into all forms of cancer’.

Ann Ackerman has had a long involvement with the group, her mother-in-law, Margaret Ackerman, was on the committee for a number of years and she often helped by making pavlovas each time an event took place.

She said: “Their excellent cooking skills will still be called upon, least only for the infamous beef curry, Canterbury tart and Francesca’s delicious onion tart, which is a labour of love due to the amount of onions which need to be prepared.”

The committee have thanked them both for the dedication to the group as they step down.

The fundraising group has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for Cancer Research UK for almost 70 years.

In 2011, the Bridport committee raised £9,000 before former Colfox student Sally Dewhurst became the youngest PhD student at the London Research Institute funded by Cancer Research UK in 2012.

She said she was indebted to her hometown of Bridport for raising so much money to support the charity and making her research possible.

In 2014, supporters and volunteers of Cancer Research UK in Bridport were thanked for their efforts with tea, cake and a visit from Cancer Research UK research scientist, Dr Hayley Frend. She showed supporters what their money raised or volunteering

It was also this year that four members of the committee stepped down after supporting the charity jointly for 105 years.

Betty Wylde, Iris Gear, Barbara Way and Margaret Ackerman began volunteering for the group more than 30 years before that and together helped raise more than £465,300 for Cancer Research UK.

Over the years they helped fundraise through the group’s curry lunches, bridge teas and summer lunches.

They were recognised for all their support with certificates of appreciation.

The previous year, in 2013, the group’s curry lunch on Valentine’s Day raised £2,300, which was to be former chairman Jane Harvey’s swansong event who retired after 14 years at the helm.

That year, volunteer Ros Fry said that the group was well on its way to reaching £40,000 raised in the past year.

Over the years, the fundraising group has been supported by the Smith family charity ball. This event, which is due to take place on March 14 at Freshwater Holiday Park from 7.30pm this year, marks the anniversary of Henry Smith’s double transplant more than 25 years ago.

As well as raising awareness and encouraging people to sign up to become a donor, it raises thousands of pounds for charity, including Cancer Research UK.

Recently, the group received a cheque of £350 from two veterinary practices.

Girling and Bowditch and Bredy Vets chose Cancer Research UK as their charity to fundraise for at their stalls at last year’s Melplash Agricultural Show. Each year they fundraise for a human or animal charity with donations from homemade cakes and drinks.

From the years of fundraising, members particularly remember one occasion when they arrived to hold an event at a village hall and there was no corkscrew or bottle opener - luckily one of the group had friends in the village who came to the rescue. Another time at another village hall, members turned up to find a very energetic Zumba session in full swing. They had to wait until the class was finished and just about managed to get everything ready before the first customers came in.

There are no signs of the fundraising team slowing down, with the next event - a summer supper - planned for Wednesday, July 1 at Ivy House, Groves Nurseries.