Macmillan Cancer Support’s income rose by approximately £17m to reach a record high of £247m in 2016, its latest accounts show.

The charity’s accounts, which were released last week and cover the year to 31 December 2016, showed income grew by 7 per cent to hit £247m, compared with £230m the previous year.

The charity’s spending also increased by more than £5m from £240.5m to £245.6m in 2016.

Income from legacies also rose by more than £13m, up 20 per cent from £63.9m in 2015 to £76.8m in 2016.

The accounts say that it expects that £35m of the legacy income accrued will be received within the next year.

Overall income from donations, excluding legacies, also increased from £151.1m to £156.5m, according to the accounts.

This meant that the charity had a surplus for the year of £6.2m, and cited a “very strong income performance in the latter part of the year” as a key reason for its record income.

MacMillan’s total funds also rose from £58.1m to £64.3m in the latest accounts.

The charity’s chief executive, Lynda Thomas, saw her income rise from within the £160,001 to £170,000 wage bracket to between £170,001 and £180,000, the accounts show.

Total earnings for Macmillan’s executive team, including pensions, benefits and termination payments, were almost £1.3m compared with £929,000 the previous year.