SHOPPERS at Blunsdon market can grab a bargain while helping a worthy cause after Prospect Hospice opened a brand new £1 stall.

Top notch goods are now on sale at the weekly market, held on Wednesday's, and this week, mayor of Swindon Maureen Penny made a flying visit to see what bargains could be had.

Prospect Hospice volunteer Carol Gibbon said: “The stall has been running for four months and it is already a great success, making a significant contribution to the funds Prospect Hospice needs to provide its services, simply by selling items that haven’t previously sold in our shops. As always, the quality of the goods that we are selling here for just £1 per item is to a good standard and there are some real bargains to be found here.

“We’re grateful to the mayor for taking time from her busy schedule to show her support for the stall. I know that all the volunteers here on the stall really appreciate it. I would also like to thank market manager Maurice Mapson who has always been a great supporter of Prospect Hospice and without whose help this would not have been able to happen.”

A lot of the items sold at the stall are from Prospect's charity shops located across the town and the Wroughton-based hospice hope that their new venture gives the clothes a new lease of life.

Mayor Maureen added: “It has been a pleasure to officially open the new Prospect Hospice stall at Blunsdon Market this week, and great to learn how successful the stall has already been.

"Prospect Hospice is a really important local charity and I think we all know someone who has benefited from the work that they do. I wish Carol and the volunteers running the stall every success for the future.”

William Whitechurch, head of retail at Prospect said: “I was delighted that the Mayor was able to join us here to show her support for the stall and also for the volunteers who run it. There’s a very serious point to the stall; all the items that we sell here for just £1 have previously been on sale in our shops but not sold – so by selling them on the stall there’s another opportunity for us to avoid adding to recycling and giving them an extended lifecycle.

“As ever, if it wasn’t stock of a good quality then we wouldn’t sell it. It’s no real surprise that, with everything at just £1, the stall has been such a success to date.”