THE first three months of the new Oxfam Bookshop in Tavistock have proved to be successful and the store is now looking for specialist volunteers.

Since opening in January, the shop has taken around £17,500 on the sale of books and a further £500 from the sale of sheet music.

The bookshop also sold 819 red noses and raised a further £200 for Comic Relief.

Shop manager Val Sharpe said the new volunteer team had settled in well and the shop was ready for some specialist roles to be created.

Lorraine D'Arcy will be spending time specialising in work with the more valuable books that are donated, and there are opportunities for a specialist volunteer to work with the sheet music and with sales on Ebay.

The shop is also setting up a dedicated section for children's non-fiction, study and revision guides and from the beginning of May is going to have a large sale of French language books, including many French published novels.

Val Sharpe said: 'A very big thank you to all the customers who have come through the door and supported Oxfam, to all the generous donors who have given books and music, and to the wonderful volunteers who make the shop what it is.'

Anyone interested in volunteering in either a general or specialist role, can contact Val on 01822 613901 or call into the shop.

Anyone with books or sheet music to donate can visit the shop or can arrange for a collection if it is a big donation. There is also an Oxfam Book Bank in the recycling area of Morrisons car park.