THERE was not a dry eye in the house as a mother sang in memory of her teenage son at a gangster-themed ball.

Donna Johnson took to the stage at the special event on Saturday in dedication of her 17-year-old son Ben, who died of undiagnosed acute leukaemia in November 2007.

Friends and family of the Gravesend Grammar School student gathered at Gravesend Rugby Club, off Rochester Road, to hear her heart-rending version of The Beatles track “In My Life.”

Family friend Sharan Berry decided to organise the gangsters paradise ball following the success of a sponsored 12-mile walk in May which raised £26,000.

Around £1,500 was raised for the Ben Johnson Forget Me Not Fund which aims to help Leukaemia Research in its quest to find a cure for blood cancers.