Six months ago, a group of London-based Scottish friends set up a charity, Auld Acquaintances, to raise money for causes back home.

It has now staged its inaugural event - a ceilidh (traditional gathering), which attracted more than 200 revellers to Cecil Sharp House in central London. The £21,000 raised will benefit Scottish Jewish welfare charities.

Charity chair Ralph Strang said that "with the community shrinking at such a pace and the trend only set to continue, it became apparent that too much pressure was being put on those who decided to stay in Scotland to support local charities.

"Many of us have parents and grandparents still in Glasgow and we have a responsibility to them and the wider community.”

Since launching a Facebook group, membership has exceeded 2,500. “We never anticipated the demand would be so vast [for the ceilidh]," Mr Strang added. "Old friends from around the globe reminisced fondly about their younger days growing up in Scotland.

"One of the highlights of the evening was the tartan raffle, where Martin Fieldman won two business class flights and four nights in a luxury hotel in New York which had been anonymously donated to the cause."