A mighty sum of money was raised by the charitable folk who work and visit Otter Garden Centre in Ottery St Mary, with the support of an army of volunteers.

A year of copious fundraising efforts, amounted to an impressive five figure donation to the garden centre's 2019 charity of the year, Hospiscare.

The final total soared over £11,500, much to the delight of everyone involved.

Acknowledging the support from all of its fundraisers, Otter Garden Centre branch manager, John Giblin said: "Our fundraising efforts were helped immensely by the help we had from the Otter Vale Friends of Hospiscare, a local group of volunteers who supported many of our fundraising activities".

He added: "They were amazing and worked really hard to make the partnership a success, which is reflected in the brilliant amount raised".

The volunteers were headed up by Steve Pearcy, whose wife received end of life support from the adult hospice charity.

To acquire the bountiful donations, a series of successful fundraising events were held throughout the year. A tombola at the garden centre in April, was followed by another at the Ottery Food and Families Festival in June. And staff-arranged quiz nights and two bingo nights kept the cash donations flooding in.

"On one of the bingo nights the weather was terrible and we worried we'd have a low turnout," explained John. "We were amazed as family members and friends of the Hospiscare volunteers kept coming through the doors. In the end the event raised over £1,000 for the charity on its own".

Richard Cousins, from Hospiscare said: "I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the fundraising over the year including our amazing volunteers, all the wonderful staff at Otter Garden Centre, and the customers who donated so generously".

The money raised will cover the costs of 225 visits by Hospiscare nurses to patients in the East Devon area and will allow the charity to make a difference in the local community.

The family run garden centre will continue to support Hospiscare in 2020 with its 'Hospiscare@Home' appeal in East Devon. Whilst, the volunteers from Otter Vale Friends are looking forward to equalling, if not improving, on last year's mammoth fundraising total.