The till clangs shut with another sale at the popular St Luke's Hospice shop in Congleton Road.

It's a bargain pair of brand-new Chelsea-style boots whose new owner is delighted with the purchase.

The sound is music to volunteer, Pat Arnold's ears, for she relishes her twice-weekly shifts at the shop, helping to raise funds for St Luke's.

Pat behind the till at St Luke's shop in Sandbach

"You never know when you might need their services. We get such lovely comments from customers," says Pat.

"We have some amazing things and the stock moves very fast. I rarely go home without buying something.

"There's so many lovely things in the shop and so much of what we have is brand new."

Pat, 67, has been working at the Sandbach charity shop for 18 months, having retried from her role in accounts admin in Stoke-on-Trent.

"I'm on first-name terms with many of our customers and love my role," says Pat.

"I love chatting to our customers and seeing what they have bought. I saw St Luke's was looking for volunteers and applied,"

Aside from her role on Tuesday afternoons and Friday mornings at St Luke's, she also sings in two choirs.

"It's good to keep busy when you're retired and have things to do. I'm used to chatting to people and like working behind the till," says Pat, who lives in Elworth.

Pat is always eager to help and has put her name down to help deliver leaflets for St Luke's about Christmas tree collections.

"They are an amazing organisation and we hear lots of lovely things from our customers about how good they have been. 

St Luke's offers a wide range of services to support people living with life limiting illnesses in mid and south Cheshire."

It offers day hospice support to 150 each week at Winterley Grange near Sandbach and St Luke's in Winsford.

The focus is on caring whether people go to them for symptom control, end of life care or complementary therapies.

It has also launched a community Night Care service to support local people in their own homes.

Anyone interested in volunteering can either visit our website for more details and to download an application form at www.slhospice.co.uk/volunteer or they can email the volunteer co-ordinator Adelle Gillett at [email protected]

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