WITH his catapult in his back pocket, Dennis the Menace – aka Mike Dennis – rallied more than 200 staff and students in fancy dress at Oxford Brookes University for a fundraiser for Sobell House.

Basil Brush, Thomas the Tank Engine and Scooby Doo were all at the Harcourt Hill campus on Thursday, raising £1,456 towards Mr Dennis's total £8,000 target for the hospice at the Churchill Hospital.

The 54-year-old senior lecturer said: "I am a bit blown away by the amount we raised. They did a really good job.

"I had one group of students who went along as a Postman Pat theme. One of them was dressed as him, one was the cat, another was the van and then someone else was the parcel.

"It is a really, really good start and I think it will give some real impetus for everybody to get fundraising."

Mr Dennis, whose wife Rachel Kay died in August 2014 from breast cancer and who had spent her last few weeks at the hospice, said he felt "emotional" about the event.

He said: "Some of my students had a cake sale on the day and raised £170.

"Rachel would have loved it. She worked at a primary school and she would always be one of the first to dress up."

For more information and to donate visit: justgiving.com/the-sobellevision-project