THREE charities will feel the benefits of a month of extensive fundraising by a Darlington shop.

The town's Specsavers store has raised £400 through a series of events, which will be split between St Theresa’s Hospice, the women’s refuge and the MS Society.

The month-long fundraising effort was kicked off by boxing champion Stuart Hall, who offered his support to the store for the work they are doing for charity,

He said: “I am delighted to support Specsavers with their fundraising efforts, particularly as St Theresa’s is a charity close to my heart, as my aunt was well looked after there.”

During August, the Darlington opticians also welcomed each of the charities into the store for a week to promote their charity with its customers and the general public.

All customers who had an eye examination in August were also entered into a prize draw for the chance to win a host of prizes including Specsavers vouchers, designer specs and accessories.

Gery Learmont, director of Specsavers in Darlington, said: "Our month of fundraising was a huge success, thanks to our generous customers; our dedicated team in store and of course, Stuart Hall who helped to kick start the campaign.

"I am so impressed with how much we managed to raise. There are so many great charities out there doing fantastic work and we didn’t want to limit our fundraising to just one.

"All of the charities do amazing work in the community and we thought this would be a fantastic way to show our support."