THE hugely popular Cirencester March Hare Festival hopped out of town with a bang tonight, raising more than £100,000 for charity.

Hares of all shapes and sizes gathered in the Bingham Hall this evening for the Grand Finale of an eight month festival, the Gala Auction led by Moore, Allen and Innocent.

Uniquely decorated, colourful hares dotted the town for almost a year, and quickly the public fell in love.

Children hugged them, tourists had their photo taken with them and townspeople adored them.

Everyone had their favourite. And tonight Cirencester said goodbye as the hares all went under the hammer in aid of charity.

Organisers expected the auction to raise around £50,000, yet were staggered to raise more than £100,000.

The highest bid was a whopping £9,400 for a five foot mosaic hare, Tess, which was designed by Erica Gibbings.

New owner of Tess, Richard Webb, who also bought another hare, Hartley for £1,800, said he was planning to welcome the hares to his home in Minchinhampton.

“My grandchildren will like them and I can leave them for them,” he said. “I’m taking my three granddaughters, my two daughters and their partners to Dubai at the end of February. When I told my daughter Jodie I had bought two hares, she said I could have paid for them all to travel business class!”

Also delighted to win a hare was Countess Bathurst, who bid for and won Charles for £1,000. The pink and gold hare was decorated by actress Emma Samms.

“I’m thrilled,” said Lady Bathurst. “I’ve always love him and Emma is a friend. I know she worked so hard on it.”

Lady Angus of Cerney House Gardens was proud to announce she had won Flora the hare for a friend all the way in New York.

“Flora was in my garden and a friend from the US came to stay and wanted it for his apartment in New York,” she said. “He will be very pleased.”

Festival organiser Florence Beetlestone said she was just staggered by how much had been raised for Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust through the auction.

Although she does not know the exact total yet, she hopes to announce how much was raised soon.

A guest at the auction did some quick maths and predicts around £113,620 was raised overall.

“I’m just so delighted for the artists and for the sponsors,” said Florence. “Our target was £50,000 but we’ve practically doubled that. I’m looking forward to the next stage now, building the walkway.”

The money raised is going towards a project led by Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust to build wild walkways around the River Churn.

The walkways will be created and used by school children, businesses and members of the community.

At the end of the auction, when all the hares had found their homes, the Earl Bathurst presented Florence with flowers and told the audience he thought the festival had been "phenomenal".

"When I heard all these hares would be dotted about Cirencester, I was a little questionable," he said. "I could not have been proved more wring. I think it has been fantastic."

More information and pictures as well as a full round-up of how much each hare went for and to who, will come online next week and in Thursday’s Standard.