AN East Cornwall octogenarian has raised in excess of £100,000 for Children’s Hospice South West in just under nine years — but said it would not have been possible without her supportive team.

Eighty-one-year-old fundraiser Sheila Tarrant from Harrowbarrow is usually seen around the local supermarkets selling hand-made products in order to raise as much money as possible for CHSW.

And last year alone Sheila managed to raise £35,000.

‘I have worked with children all my life, with teaching and in the Salvation Army and I was a carer for 19 years. When that ended Little Harbour was being set up and I felt it was my opportunity to do something for children,’ said Sheila.

Her efforts have been made possible thanks to a team of people who all have a passion to raise money for the children’s charity.

She added: ‘It’s not just me, I have a team of people who all have different talents, I call them my elves and I really couldn’t do this without them.’

Sheila, who will soon celebrate her 82nd birthday, added: ‘Someone said to me once that I should be sitting down with my feet up, but if I did that I would never move again.

‘I’ve worked with children all my life and this is a way I feel I can help those in special need.’

To congratulate her on the amazing funds raised for the charity, her friends and colleagues from CHSW organised a surprise for her at Tesco Callington, where she was presented with a bouquet for her extraordinary fundraising efforts

Zoe Partridge, community fundraiser for the charity, said: ‘Sheila has brought in £20,750 since January!

‘On behalf of all of the team at Children’s Hospice South West, I would like to thank Tesco for their recognition of the tremendous amount of fundraising that Sheila has done for the charity. Without volunteers like Sheila we simply couldn’t offer the care and support for families that we do at our three hospices and we really do have the local communities around our hospices to thank for that.’

Alan Woollcombe from Tesco, who arranged the presentation, said: ‘Sheila has been here every month without fail ever since the store opened in 2010. For years she has organised an army to knit for her an assortment of delightful knick-knacks. She then charms our customers with her stories and cajoles them into parting with amazing sums of money! And when she’s not here, customers always ask when she is next in.

‘I am only sorry we couldn’t knit an award for her, but this bouquet is a small token of the high esteem we hold for her and her unflagging efforts over the years.’

l Children’s Hospice South West was founded in 1991 by Eddie and Jill Farwell after they experienced for themselves the urgent need for hospice care for children in the South West. In 1995 Little Bridge House, the South West’s first children’s hospice opened its doors to families from across the South West. Little Bridge House quickly became oversubscribed, which led to the opening of the charity’s second hospice Charlton Farm located just outside Bristol, in 2007.

The Precious Lives Appeal to build CHSW’s third hospice, in Cornwall, Little Harbour was launched in September 2007. The appeal ended in September 2011 as the £5-million target was reached. Little Harbour welcomed its first families through the doors in December 2011.