A black tie charity auction extravaganza, offering lots for every budget, will take place in St Albans next month.

Shona Davies is hosting the evening as part of her fundraising to reach a target of £10,000 for Mind in Mid Herts - a mental health charity who helped her through a recent breakdown.

Fizz will be flowing throughout the evening, with both a Champagne reception and a Champagne tombola - numbers on glass bottoms correspond to prizes.

After a raffle and a three course meal cooked by young Masterchef 2016, Harry Lumsdown, there will be items on sale ranging from about £40 to £3,500 in both a silent and live auction.

Confirmed products up for bidding include a signed Lionel Messi shirt, a upmarket rowing event package with Henley Regatta, a holiday to France, jewellery, and a Veuve Clicquot Champagne experience for two.

Shona, who is also sailing all over the globe as part of the Clipper Round the World Race 2017-18, said everybody is welcome: “The long and the short of it is in 2015 I had a complete and utter mental breakdown, and part of the reason I am doing this is giving back to Mind, who helped me when I was in the absolute worst of days.

“So I want to raise money so they can carry on doing what they do.”

She is also looking to raise a further £10,000 to fund her race - the total target is £20,000. Half of the proceeds for the evening will go to Mind and half will go to the boating challenge.

This is why she has chosen a pun-tastic name - ‘seas the day charity ball’.

The race is a 40,000 nautical mile journey around the world on a 70-foot yacht. Twelve identical racing boats battle it out, each with a qualified sailor to help the crew.

The evening will take place at St Michael’s Manor Hotel on May 6, from 6.30pm - individual tickets are £45, or £405 for a table of ten.

To find out more about the clipper race, visit Shona’s blog.