Shaking to the beat, a Pembroke Dock samba band set out on a tour of Wales to help raise money for charity.

When a member suggested doing something special for Samba Doc’s tenth anniversary, the idea grew and grew. They decided they wanted to challenge themselves by playing with the 12 active Welsh samba bands. In a single weekend.

This developed into a fund-raising event for Children in Need, with samba bands advertising in their hometowns, bringing everyone together to play samba.

Sue Ward, Samba Doc secretary said: “It went pretty amazing, we played with 12 bands in nine locations. We came home exhausted but elated. Being on such a high we are planning more big things - Wales today, tomorrow the world.

“We couldn’t have achieved our challenge without people coming out and giving up their time to play with us in each location.

“It took a huge amount of effort from Samba Doc members to make it work and thank you to Huw for having the idea in the first place.”

Ms Ward said that the Pembroke Dock Mayor, Councillor Gordon Goff, contacted his counterparts in all the towns the group visited to ask the local Mayor to greet them.

They played their first gig outside Tesco, Pembroke Dock on Friday, October 19 before embarking on their tour, and Cllr Goff welcomed them back to their last gig on Sunday, October 21.

From Aberystwyth to Bangor, Barmouth - Hay-on-Wye –Brecon-Newport, and from Cardiff-Cowbridge-Swansea, Samba Doc played their way around Wales celebrating with local bands.

The BBC provided a Pudsey costume for the event, and he was seen to attract audiences of all ages at every venue.

Samba Doc have raised just over £1,000 during their travels if you would like to help visit Children in Need at justgiving.com/fundraising/samba-doctourofwales

To learn more about Samba Doc visit sambadoc.org.uk or their Facebook page for highlights of the Tour on facebook.com/SambaDoc.Wales/