charities locally and nationally have had their funds boosted thanks largely to the untiring efforts of an 83-year-old Bromsgrove woman.

Since the beginning of January, Marjorie Foster, from Providence Road, Sidemoor, aided by a willing band of helpers, raised £1,100 from various fundraising activities they had organised.

At a charity dance held at Fairfield Village Hall on September 9, Marjorie handed over £500 to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and a cheque for the same figure to the St John Ambulance Brigade.

She also gave £50 each to the Friends of the Princess of Wales Hospital and the Sarah Hampton Foundation Trust.

Marjorie, who helps behind the counter at the Primrose Hospice shop in Church Street, has raised more than £44,500 since she began fundraising 26 years ago.

"I couldn't do it without the help of my friends," she said.