AN ENTHUSIASTIC married couple raised hundreds of pounds for Brighter Futures.

Keith Duffer and his wife Mavis spent five hours collecting by the checkouts in Tesco at Ocotal Way with a charity bucket and a few family members to drum up support for the appeal.

Generous customers gave £383.71 to the good cause.

Keith, 71, said: "If it wasn't for Great Western Hospital and the quick response of the ambulance, my wife wouldn't be here today.

"She had a heart valve replacement and several other health complaints.

"So, we want to do anything and everything in our power to raise money as much money as possible for them and their radiotherapy unit.

"The paramedics have been brilliant and we want to show our appreciation."

Mavis, 81, said: "There are so many people who have stories of suffering because they've had to travel to Oxford and back every day for treatment.

"We wanted to help GWH provide the same services closer to home.

Keith wore a fetching pink afro wig to encourage donations.

He added: "It really did help, people saw the wig and smiled and they'd come over to talk and donate some change.

"Thank you to Tesco for letting us do this and offering us the chance to do it again.

"We live nearby and the team there suggested that we could spend a day in-store to raise money.

"After this, we plan to do similar collections in other supermarkets and find a way to take our fundraising to the next level."

The cheerful Jamaican couple have chaired a United Community Luncheon Club at Broadgreen Community Centre for 29 years.

It's held every Monday from 10.30am to 3.30pm, with a lunch at 12.30pm.

Keith added: "We have music and dancing, storytelling and games with members of all ages, everyone's welcome.

Mavis added: "Our cook is 85, we have a lot of elderly people like us at the luncheon club.

"Our dancing is more like shuffling, but we enjoy ourselves!"