Shopping centre's charity donation

Friars Square Shopping Centre donate money raised from their Christmas grotto to Medical Detection Dogs

The shopping centre’s Christmas grotto raised £6,682.67 of the total while the rest has been raised by Friars staff and shoppers.

Centre manager Andy Margieson says the shopping centre has decided to keep raising money for the charity throughout 2017 in a bid to double this total.

Ticket sales from this year’s grotto will also go to support Medical Detection Dogs’ work.

Mr Margieson said: “We have decided to carry on supporting Medical Detection Dogs throughout 2017.

“It is a small charity so our shoppers and our team can see the difference our contribution makes.

“The charity has lots of projects planned for the future including the development of its testing facilities so we wanted to help fund this crucial stage of its development.”

The Saunderton-based charity trains dogs to help medical professionals detect diseases like breast and bladder cancer, as well as training Medical Alert Dogs to help people live with life-threatening conditions such as epilepsy and diabetes.