AN OSWESTRY supermarket has raised more than £1,500 for a search and rescue charity.

Sainsbury’s on Black Gate Street welcomed fundraisers from West Mercia Search and Rescue to help raise funds for search and rescue calls in the Oswestry area - raising £1,906.88 in total.

Store manager Allister Moutrie said: “We would like to thank our customers for helping to raise such a fantastic amount for our new Charity of the Year.

“We really enjoyed welcoming the volunteers into the store over the weekend and we hope our support will really make a difference.”

Matt Weaver, Search Manager, added: “It was great to spend some time at Sainsbury’s Oswestry over the weekend meeting the customers and colleagues.

“The generous donations from customers mean we can continue to help more people across the Shropshire area.”

Andy Macauley of West Mercia Search and Rescue said: “West Mercia SAR is absolutely delighted to have been chosen as the local Charity of the Year for Sainsburys' Oswestry.

“We've led a number of searches for missing people in the area over the last few years, and to be recognised by the community is a real boost to the morale of our volunteers.

“Supermarkets represent the most important source of funding for our training and equipment costs, and the generosity of shoppers means that we can provide for the team rather than them having to fund their own training directly.

“As a wholly voluntary charity, every penny really does go directly towards keeping us operational and ready to respond.

“West Mercia SAR has deployed 144 times in the last three years.

“We were most recently in the Oswestry area during the search for Gareth Wyn Stephens in May this year.

“During that search we saw how the community pulled together to help the team with our efforts, and although it was a tragic outcome, we are enormously grateful for that support.”