Nine staff from a Cornish law firm rolled up their sleeves to help a Penzance charity as part of Give and Gain Day.

Organised by Business in the Community, the initiative is the UK’s only national day of employee volunteering, seeing thousands of employees across the country help out local charities for the day.

The staff from Stephens Scown LLP’s offices in Truro and St Austell volunteered at St Teresa’s Leonard Cheshire Disability in Penzance. Volunteers included partners, associates, trainees and legal secretaries, who swapped a day in the office for digging, weeding and planting to get the garden at the residential care home ready for summer.

Robert Camp, Stephens Scown’s managing partner said: “Our staff are really eager to help out in their local communities so we had no shortage of volunteers for the Give and Gain Day. It is great to be able to give something back by helping a fantastic charity like Leonard Cheshire Disability. Our staff also got something out of it too – working with different colleagues in a completely different setting was a great way of building camaraderie and team spirit.”

Kay Mitchell, volunteer co-ordinator at St Teresa’s, said: “We were really impressed by the team’s enthusiasm and willingness to help. Their hard work really paid off and by the end of the day the patios and gardens were looking fantastic. All the residents and staff here at St Teresa’s are very appreciative of their efforts - it was a pleasure to have them with us.”