Jason Manford's charity comedy gig at Middleton Arena raises £14,000 for Petrus

Jason Manford visiting the Petrus hub

A special comedy night which saw one of the nation’s favourite comedians, Jason Manford, take to the stage of Middleton arena on Thursday 21 September, has raised £13,945 for local homelessness charity, Petrus.

Having visited the charity’s hub earlier this year and meeting with service users, Jason was inspired to act, agreeing to take part in a special show to raise money for Petrus.

He was joined by fellow comedians Barbara Nice, and Steve Shanyaski who delivered crowd-pleasing performances.

Petrus has been serving the community of Rochdale for more than 50 years, with a vision to end homelessness and create safe spaces where all people can flourish.

Through their hub, those who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness can access a wide range of support services, from HART nurses to welfare advice and wellbeing support.

The charity also offers temporary accommodation, support to sustain tenancies and hosts a range of wellbeing activity from their hub and community allotment site.

With the event generously sponsored by S. Wellens & Sons Funeral Directors, 100% of the money raised from ticket sales, and during the event will be going to the charity.

Sonia Denham, Head of Petrus said: “We had the most unbelievable night! It was amazing to see so many people come out to support what we do at Petrus, meet so many new people and share our vision of a world without homelessness with them.

“We’d like to say a huge thank you to all the acts, especially Jason for helping to bring the night together and to S. Wellens & Sons for their incredible support. We’ve never done anything like this before, and we’re ecstatic with what we’ve raised and the positive impact this will have in our community.”

To find out more about Petrus or make a donation, please visit their website www.petrus.org.uk