A LOYAL volunteer at the Save the Children charity shop in Constantine has been award a long service medal by no lesser person than her Royal Highness Princess Anne - The patron of the charity.

Sally Coot was presented with the medal for 20 years service at the Constantine branch of the charity by Princess Anne who also unveiled a plaque to commemorate her visit which will be displayed outside the shop.

She also met local volunteers to hear about her work and was greeted by schoolchildren from Constantine School who came out especially to see her.

The branch which has been running for almost 40 years, now has more than 70 supporters from the villages of Constantine, Mawnan Smith and Treverva with 27 volunteers working shifts in the shop in Fore Street, Constantine.

And in the past five years alone, they have raised over £350,000 from shop sales and a host of other fundraising activities for the charity which works in the UK and 120 other countries supporting some 60 million children around the world.

Dr Paula Roberts, branch chair told the Princess how the branch's success started from a garage in Constantine and a seasonal lean-to porch in Port Navas.

The shop has since been managed by Mrs Sally Coot – a volunteer since 1992 who was herself awarded a British Empire Medal in 2016. Sally said: ‘I’m very excited about the visit by the Princess Royal – it recognises the hard work of all the volunteers and those who support the shop which raises around £13,000 each year.’

The branch raises around £20,000 each year from the shop and other events - raffles, bridge drives, coffee mornings, Christmas Fairs, and quizzes.