Barnstaple store's do-it-yourself Christmas!

STAFF at a Barnstaple DIY store are doing their bit for local charities this Christmas. The Homebase store at Whiddon Valley has been running a programme of activities to raise money for worthy causes including the Calvert Trust, Devon Air Ambulance, Wing

STAFF at a Barnstaple DIY store are doing their bit for local charities this Christmas.

The Homebase store at Whiddon Valley has been running a programme of activities to raise money for worthy causes including the Calvert Trust, Devon Air Ambulance, Wings Appeal, RNLI, Cancer Research, North Devon Animal Ambulance and Children's Hospice South West.

Events still to come include a charity bag packing and gift wrapping service and a craft stall on Monday, December 21, with items including cakes and cards all donated by the staff themselves.

This weekend (19&20), children will be able to visit Santa's Grotto, from 2-6pm on Saturday and from 12noon-4pm on Sunday.

Staff have already raised �2,500 for the store's chosen charity, the British Heart Foundation, and will be hoping to smash the �3,000 mark with a Glastonbury-themed fancy dress fund-raiser on Christmas Eve, complete with mince pies, mulled wine and roasted chestnuts.

Homebase charity events organiser Stacy Greenwood said the fund-raising would continue into the New Year with a "Row-a-Thon" on Saturday, January 16 in aid of Pathfields School.