Telford tabletop sellers reach £50,000 donation milestone for Severn Hospice

The Busy Bees group holds the sales at the Dawley Christian Centre and Methodist Church every few months and takes donations for the hospice.

The sales evolved from coffee mornings organised by Shirley Brookes, whose experiences with her own ill mother long ago drove her to support the hospice however she could.

After her mother was diagnosed with cancer more than 50 years ago, Mrs Brookes would travel from Shropshire to Yorkshire every weekend to see her.

She was cared for in hospital for several weeks before she died.

"There were no hospices in those days," Mrs Brookes said. "As soon as I heard they were going to start a hospice in Telford I thought 'I'll have to start raising money for them'.

"They desperately need it and they do such a wonderful job."

Now 81, Mrs Brookes works with the other hard-working members of the Busy Bees to host the sales. Donations are taken for the hospice, which has branches in Telford, Shrewsbury and Oswestry.

Anything not sold at the end of a sale is given to the hospice to sell in charity shops.

Mrs Brookes said: "It's a team effort, they all work very hard."

She said that she didn't keep track of the total raised for the hospice, and was taken aback recently when she was told it was more than £50,000.

The sales take place every three or four months and are dependent on the availability of a van to take excess stock to the hospice.

Mrs Brookes said that there may not be another sale if there is no van available.