THE staff of the Mole Avon store in Okehampton have helped to raise the magnificent sum of £1,835.52 for Children's Hospice South West as part of the 'Wear Your Wellies' week, organised by the charity.

Staff at the store on Exeter Road and stores in Crediton and Axminster took part in a series of fundraising shenanigans during late February to help raise funds for the charity. Several quirky events including a treasure hunt, a welly-throwing contest, 'guess the number of sweets in the welly', and a children's 'design a welly' competition took place to help raise the money.

The cheque presentation took place at the Crediton store, received by David Butt, corporate fundraiser for Children's Hospice South West.

David said: 'On behalf of Children's Hospice South West I would like to thank Mole Avon town and country stores staff and their customers for raising so much money for our charity.

'We appreciate a lot of hard work has been put in to make the week a fundraising success and are very grateful to receive such support, particularly in these times of financial uncertainty.'

Mole Avon executive Richard Billson said: 'Mole Avon has been supporting Children's Hospice South West for several years including staff and customers raising £30,000 during the company's twenty-fifth anniversary celebrations.

'We are pleased to continue to support this local charity through this event. To increase the money raised, Mole Avon donated ten per cent of its wellington sales from the week.

'A huge thank you goes out to the customers who bought their wellies from us this week, which has enabled us to donate over £820 to this very worthy cause.

'I would also like to thank the Mole Avon staff for all the hard work that was put in to make this week such a resounding success.'

The money raised from the welly-related events will help the hospice continue to provide respite, palliative and end of life care for life-limited children, and support their families in facing an uncertain future.

For details on how you can help support the charity, please visit http://www.chsw.org.uk">www.chsw.org.uk