Last Saturday, volunteers and friends from the Paulton Hospital League of Friends Charity Shop gathered to enjoy a celebration after reaching a whopping half a million pound milestone in their fundraising.

Speaking at the event Terry Wynne, who was awarded the MBE in 2011 alongside his wife, Caroline, for their charitable work, said: “We worked for Cadbury’s for over 67 years between us, the longest married couple working for the company at that time. We were looking forward to our retirement after a life of chocolate, with me in my potting shed, slippers on in front of the fire and Caroline knitting in her chair, having a cuddle on the couch together. But this did not go to plan.

“We did not expect to find ourselves with a new career as shopkeepers, but our

campaign to raise funds for Paulton Hospital took off surprisingly well. Retirement, what retirement? After 22 years of fundraising and being instrumental in making £500,000 with the help of our volunteers (and never forgetting our customers of course), being honoured by the Queen with the MBE and other awards has made us very proud.

“What makes us even more proud, is the importance of having as many facilities at Paulton Hospital as possible, so local people don’t have to travel to Bath’s Royal United Hospital for treatment. This takes away a lot of stress and travel for patients and their families. Raising money for Paulton Hospital has always been our goal.

“Congratulations to us and our volunteers – retirement stays on hold for the time being and that cuddle on the couch will have to wait a bit longer!”