TWINS with a rare genetic disorder helped a charity raise more than £5000 last Friday.

Matthew and Stuart McDonald, both aged 16, from Peebles, joined their parents Gillian and Craig at the first Scottish Fragile X Society fundraising dinner at the town’s Hydro Hotel.

Mr and Mrs McDonald joined the Fragile X Society after their son’s were diagnosed and soon took a very active role with Craig becoming deputy chairman.

During the evening funds slowly mounted, firstly through ticket sales at £55 a head, a tombola, raffle and a blind auction.

After a champagne reception the evening’s entertainment kicked off a simple 'Heads’ and 'Tails’ game. Everyone had to put hands on heads or bottoms to the flick of a coin. A £50 note was won by Nick Cruden.

Many Peebles businesses supported the event with items for the blind auction including a leg of lamb from Forsyths the Butchers, an evening at Stobo Health Spar, afternoon Tea for two at the Tontine Hotel, a Weatherspoons meal for two and a bag signed by all members of the Moviestar/Endura cycling team which sold for £125. Among organisations taking tables at the event were 10 researchers, doctors and staff from the Patrick Wild Centre at Edinburgh University. The only team doing dedicated clinical work on Fragile X, a chromosonal disorder, in the UK.

Dr Andy Stamfield from the centre talked about the work and said: “We do both clinical and lab research and trials of potential new medicines.

“Our work which started in 2010 and is funded through philanthropy, the NHS and the Fragile X Society, our understanding of the condition has increased massively but it is still early days.” Fragile X Society director Edel Harris has personal experience of the disorder as her 27-year-old son Ross was diagnosed aged five.

Mrs Harris, who is also CEO of healthcare support charity Cornerstone, said: “The Fragile X Society is a very small family orientated charity but through social media today, which is Fragile X Awareness Day, more than a million people have heard of it.

“One of the things the Society has recently collaborated on is an e-learning module for professionals working with Fragile X aimed at teachers and social workers.

“This event has really helped put Fragile X on the map, Craig and Gillian deserve an enormous thank you.” Peebles band Backgreen generously supported the event playing a mixture of traditional ceilidh music and rock tunes which eventually had everyone up on the dancefloor.