Pictured above: (l-r) Councillor Alan Nash, Irish Guards Assoc; Tracey Lester from the Royal British Legion; Stewart Wren, CEO Service Birmingham; and Lord Mayor Cllr Anita Ward

The Lord Mayor's annual charity appeal is £2,000 better off following a donation from Service Birmingham.

The money was raised by the company donating 50p for every completed staff survey form returned from Birmingham City Council's ICT users.

Welcoming the donation Birmingham Lord Mayor Cllr Anita Ward said: "Each of the charities in this year's appeal means something to me personally. The Irish Guards are very close to my heart given my son served in Afghanistan. Equally, both my children were born prematurely so I identify very strongly with the work of the Tiny Babies, Big Appeal charity.

"I always said that if I ended up as Lord Mayor I would dedicate my year to those charities closest to my heart so I am glad to now have the opportunity to do so. I am also grateful to Service Birmingham for their kind donation."

Service Birmingham CEO Stewart Wren said: "We are proud to be a partner of the Lord Mayor's charity appeal. These are all really deserving local charities doing extraordinary work. As a company we take our social responsibilities seriously and our employees are heavily involved in charitable fundraising throughout the year."

Welcoming the donation, Tracey Lester from the Royal British Legion said: "We're proud to have been chosen as one of the Lord Mayor's charities and we're grateful to Service Birmingham for their support. This is especially welcome in our 90th anniversary year."

Councillor Alan Nash from Solihull MBC representing the Irish Guards Association, West Midlands branch added: "Its nice to see the Lord Mayor has nominated the Irish Guards as so many of their recruits come from the West Midlands."