You did it - that was the message to Herald&Post readers after a final charity appeal target of £16,000 was met.

In fact, the response to this year's fundraiser, the last in eight years of appeals, has been so positive that the paper managed to reach its goal with cash to spare.

Thanks to a surge of activity in the final few weeks of 2006, the charity drive, named The Herald&Post Mary Biswell Memorial Appeal, brought in £19,850.

And that money has already been handed over to the Luton & Dunstable Hospital, where the much-needed UV skin treatment cabin has been bought and put into use for sufferers of psoriasis and eczema.

This was the final H&P appeal and brings the total raised by the team during its eight-year run to £320,550.

The Herald&Post's sports editor John Oliver, who has been involved in all of the appeals since the beginning, praised everyone who helped make the regular fundraiser a success.

"The Herald&Post charity committee has done a fantastic job over the last eight years in raising more than £300,000 for worthy local causes," he said.

"And it's wholly appropriate that the final appeal should be in memory of a quite remarkable lady.

"Mary Biswell is a legend in Luton and Dunstable and played a huge part in helping this newspaper to raise such a large sum of money.

"When she died last year it was a huge loss to the local community."

Mary Biswell MBE, former Dunstable mayor and chairman of South Beds District Council from 1983 to 1984, was the focal point of all previous appeals and was well-known for her ability to drum up support for worthwhile causes.