MORE than 200 tickets have been sold for a charity ball in honour of a young midwife from Stanton who died in a road traffic collision.

Hannah Seeley, 23, had been returning home from work at West Suffolk Hospital, in Bury St Edmunds, on April 22 last year when her Ford Fiesta was involved in a collision with a VW Golf on the A143 at Pakenham.

She had been due to marry Mark Wade, 28, last September.

A group of Miss Seeley’s friends have organised the Hannah Seeley Charity Ball which is taking place at the Apex in Bury St Edmunds this Saturday.

Money raised is going to Sands (Stillbirth & Neonatal Death Charity) and Acorn House, which is a Bury St Edmunds housing scheme Miss Seeley had worked with.

Beth Mleczek said Miss Seeley had been her best-friend and a bridesmaid at her wedding. She said: “We have been organising [the charity ball] for about six months I would say. I think after the accident happened we really wanted to do something positive and I guess it’s given us a bit of focus really as a group of friends to do something after such a tragic situation.”

She added it was also a “tribute to Hannah and what she achieved”.

Mrs Mleczek, 25, from Thetford, said: “She’s left a massive hole in our lives and as a group we will never feel complete without her really. It’s been a massive loss to us all.”

She added: “She always made us laugh and knew the right things to say to us to cheer us up. I miss her a lot.”

She said they hoped for some of the money raised to go towards a memorial garden and play area at Acorn House.

Mr Wade, who is attending the charity ball, said: “I think it gives the girls something to focus on. It’s all going to good causes and it carries on her name – that’s the most important thing for me.”

About £4,000 has already been raised though ticket sales alone. Money will also be raised at the event through a raffle and an auction.

Auction prizes include a two-week stay at a villa in France and a full membership with Suffolk Golf and Spa in Fornham St Genevieve, where Miss Seeley was due to get married.

A total of 238 tickets have been sold for the event. The sale of tickets is now closed.

Mr Wade is also raising funds in Miss Seeley’s memory through undertaking the Three Peaks challenge with family and a friend in May.