CO-OPERATIVE shoppers in Ottery could find themselves transported to the Bahamas, Benidorm or Blackpool when they call into the store, on Friday as staff hold a beach party to raise money for charity.

CO-OPERATIVE shoppers in Ottery could find themselves transported to the Bahamas, Benidorm or Blackpool when they call into the store, on Friday as staff hold a beach party to raise money for charity.

Shorts and shades, sombreros and sarongs will be the sartorial order of the day as staff aim to get customers into the Bank Holiday spirit and add to the �1 million already raised across the UK this year by the consumer-owned business for RNID, the charity for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Ottery St Mary Co-operative store manager Louisa Furneaux-Harris said: "The August Bank Holiday is always a busy time in stores and we hope this charity event will get the weekend off to a great start for both our customers and staff while helping us towards raising our next �1 million for RNID which carries out such fantastic work in the community."

As well as raising �2 million for RNID by the end of the year, with the support of its staff, members and customers, The Co-operative aims to increase awareness of deafness and hearing loss.

Staff hope to reach some of the four million people in the UK who are losing their hearing but doing nothing about it. During the partnership, RNID aims to check the hearing of one million people and is campaigning to ensure that in future everyone aged over 55 is invited to have their hearing screened on the NHS.

Staff across The Co-operative's businesses, including food retail, travel, funerals, pharmacy, banking, insurance and farming are taking part in the campaign. All money collected at local stores will directly benefit people who are deaf or hard of hearing in the region.