THE annual Croft Rock festival again proved to be a huge hit in May, with hundreds of people turning out to watch two packed main stages across the one-day spectacle.

The event, Barrow’s longest-running music festival, has risen in popularity since its launch in 2012, raising over £10,000 for various organisations.

A variety of solo artists and bands flocked to the The Crofters in Holbeck, including indie group The Dales, Kings In Canoes, pop punk act Fight For Friday and Brief Sobriety.

The charity nominated to raise money for this year was the Huntington’s Disease Association Cumbria Branch. A fantastic £4,579 was raised and Dennis Whittaker, Chairman of the Branch, met up with promoter Mark Russell and the Croft Rock team to receive the cheque on Sunday.

Mr Whittaker said: “The branch will use the money to support local sufferers and families. “We will also supply welfare grants and provide mutual support for those affected.”

Huntington’s disease is a progressive disorder that stops the brain working properly over time and is usually fatal over a 20-year period.

The disease causes progressive mental deterioration, significant behavioural changes and severe physical incapacity. Mr Whittaker said: “Each child of a parent with Huntington’s has a 50 per cent chance of inheriting the faulty gene.

“Currently there is no cure for this disease.

“Following successful human trials of a drug aimed at reducing the production of the damaging protein, a much larger trial was announced at the recent European Huntington’s Disease Network in Vienna.”