FUNDRAISERS for a Somerset charity are celebrating after customers at a garden centre helped raised more than £30,000.

During the past eight years Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre has collected £31,341.07 for Children’s Hospice South West through a range of events including open weeks and annual Santa arrival events.

Andrew Pitman, store manager at the garden centre at Monkton Heathfield, said: “We have been fundraising for CHSW since 2008 and recently made a donation of all the funds collected during that time.

“The charity originally got in contact to see if we could donate a raffle prize to them.

"Not only did we donate a prize but we also chose them as our charity of the year for 2008 and have worked with them ever since.

"The staff are fantastic and are always ready and raring to collect cash at all of our events.

“We’d like to thank our very generous customers who have made donations over the years, here’s to many more years of fundraising.”

CHSW is currently the only provider of specialist hospice care for children in the region, offering support for youngsters with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition and their families at its three hospices - Charlton Farm in North Somerset, Little Bridge House in North Devon and Little Harbour in Cornwall.

Gill Brown, recently retired chairman of the Bridgwater Friends of CHSW, said: “We are absolutely over the moon at the donation from the garden centre.

“The money will go towards the work we do for our three children’s hospices so we would like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to all of the staff and the customers who have been so generous.”