A TOTAL of £950.98 was raised during a weekend of collections at Sainsbury’s in Stratton for the RNLI.

Members of Highworth and District Fundraising Branch of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution collected £593.25 on Saturday and £357.73 on Sunday with the help of community fundraising volunteers and generous locals.

Ron Rose, branch secretary , said: “It’s a brilliant result, thank you to Sainsbury’s for allowing us to do it. Our thanks go to all staff and customers for their generosity.

“We used to get most of our fundraising from house-to-house collections but the RNLI and a few other charities decided to stop doing that.

“As a whole, a small percentage of the RNLI’s funding came from house-to-house collections as they also raise money with fetes and visitors to their lifeguard stations but, of course, our branch doesn’t have a lifeguard station as there’s no water nearby.”

The team will be visiting another the Co-op in Highworth on October 21 with calendars, diaries, Christmas cards and toys to sell.

“There are only four of us and we still need more helpers,” said Ron.

“It averages out to an hour of work a month, so if someone could give up a bit of their time, we could really use the help.”

Anyone who wants to join the branch as a volunteer fundraiser should call Ron on 07759 439480.

Alternatively, visit rnli.org/find-my-nearest/community-fundraising-groups/highworth-and-district-fundraising-branch