A CABARET night in Prestatyn in memory of a beloved late teacher raised £1,000 for a cancer charity.

Mat Williams, a former English and drama teacher at Prestatyn High School (PHS), died aged 40 on Tuesday, October 11 after a battle with bowel cancer.

In his honour, Chloé Waggett, who was both a pupil and later a colleague of Mat’s at the school, organised the cabaret event on Friday, October 28 at Lyons Nant Hall Hotel, Prestatyn.

Proceeds from the event, which included burlesque, drag acts, circus skills and arealists, are to be donated to Bowel Cancer UK.

Those who attended, including many of Mat’s PHS friends, joined Chloé in a rendition of Mat’s favourite song; “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, “Carousel”.

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Chloé was delighted by the success of the event, and felt it was a fitting tribute to a man she had so much admiration for.

She said: “It was super silly and theatrical, and everybody had a great time – it was how he would’ve liked it.

“‘You’ll Never Walk Alone was one of Mat’s funeral songs. He was a big Liverpool fan; it was his favourite song.

“So, when everybody stood up and sang it together at the end, it was really special, and so emotional. I was in tears.

“There were lots of raffle tickets being bought, lots of people came to show their support, and the show went really well; everybody seemed to really enjoy it. All round, it was a success!”

Chloé arranged the event through her own performing arts company, Co.Creative Performance Company, which she said Mat inspired her to set up.

Mat himself raised thousands for the charity before his death, including through a 100-mile walk in aid of Bowel Cancer UK.

For more information on the work of Bowel Cancer UK, go to: www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk.

Chloé added: “I spoke to his wife (Tuoc) the day after, and she was really pleased with how it all sounded.

“When he was really poorly and finished work, he decided he was going to walk 100 miles for Bowel Cancer UK, so he did a lot of fundraising for them.

“It was something he was passionate about raising money for.”

Last week, former colleagues and pupils of Mat’s paid a number of touching tributes to him.

Chloé herself said: “As a teacher, friend and colleague of mine, I was blessed with many incredible memories of the wonderful person he was.

“A lot of people say he was their favourite teacher. He’s someone who people will never forget.”