A BALL to honour the 18th birthday of murdered schoolgirl Paige Doherty will take place this weekend.

Family, friends and well-wishers will gather at Glasgow’s Hilton Hotel for the first annual Paige’s Promise Ball, a charity which was formed by her parents last year in a bid to help other families in similar situations.

The event promises to be a fun-filled affair – with guests of honour DJ George Bowie and Zander Nation – to celebrate the life of the 15-year-old, two years after her death.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s ball, charity organisers said: “There will be a few emotional moments as well as some surprises along the way.

“We would always have marked Paige’s 18th but we couldn’t think of a better way than the charity’s first big event.”

It will be a bittersweet occasion for those closest to the Whitecrook teenager but the family are determined to make the night a roaring success, exactly as she would have wanted.

The money raised will go towards the charity’s work throughout Clydebank and the west of Scotland, which includes retreats for children whose siblings died in sudden circumstances and self-defence classes for youngsters.

The group added: “We are in the process of building a memorial garden and we don’t really know what’s next.

“We’re expanding the self defence classes and a few more retreats are planned. We have a few ideas for future events too.

“Paige would have loved Saturday – the hype, the getting ready, the organising. It’s totally her.”