ORCHARDS in Popes Hill and Awre provided fundraiser Bridget Marshall with the mistletoe she needed for her charity sales at Tesco in Lydney, as she battled to beat her grand total from last year of £620.

In fact, over a long day, she and partner John Tribe managed to amass an amazing £820 which has been donated, as in previous years, to Macmillan Cancer Support.

"Everyone was so generous," said Bridget of Lower Soudley. "We started at ten in the morning and I sold mistletoe and John played Christmas carols in the foyer – which proved to be a great success. We had quite a few people just donate money because they told me they had lots of mistletoe – so we asked them for some for next year, and ended up with five phone numbers!"

Bridget and John plan to repeat their efforts next year, and any further offers of mistletoe for her sales would be welcomed. She can be contacted on 077719 64698.