A band which raised thousands of pounds for a mental health charity were spurred on by their own experience of depression.

The Larkz raised £1,400 for Oxfordshire Mind with their sell-out gig at the Langdale Hall, in Witney.

They organised the event because Ali Edginton, wife of lead singer Kev, suffered depression after her shop Figments was destroyed in an arson attack.

Mrs Edginton, 40, who helped organise the charity event, said: "Because of what I had been through, I felt that I could relate to some of the people the charity helps."

Her shop caught fire on June 6 after a blaze began at the Sobell House charity store next door in Langdale Court.

The store was packed with thousands of pounds worth of ethnic clothes, jewellery and crystals.

Mother-of-two Mrs Edginton said: "We lost everything - it was a total write-off."

Unfortunately, Mrs Edginton had not updated her insurance since she had opened the store 18 months before and was only insured for £15,000, but lost almost £40,000 worth of goods.

The shop front and ceiling also needed to be rebuilt before she could reopen.

She said: "I got so depressed, I had a bit of a breakdown. I didn't want to go out because I felt embarrassed, like I had let everyone down."

Since then, with the help of friends and family, she has started to rebuild her business, planning selling parties, organising the band's gigs and preparing for the reopening of her store in December.

* A Figments Party is planned for Tuesday, November 14, at Witney Snooker Club, on Eagle Industrial Estate, at 7pm.

Part of the profits will go to Oxfordshire Mind.