MORE than £1,400 has been raised for Guide Dogs for the Blind from a charity auction in Trowbridge.

Linda Dowsett, from Southwick, organised the auction at Southwick Village Hall on Saturday (Oct 6).

Around 200 lots went under the hammer to be sold by her friend, Jeff Bendall, who frequently plays the Dame in the Southwick pantomimes.

She said: “All the hard work pales into insignificance when you see a guide dog with its owner.

“I’d like to thank all the lovely people who helped me and donated towards the auction.”

Mrs Dowsett, 72, of

Hollis Way, first raised £5,000 to name a guide dog

Gordon, after her husband who died in 2011.

Since then, she has raised a further £25,000 and has named four other guide dogs Jim,

Rosie, Max and Tilly, who have all been trained and homed across the country.

She is now fundraising for a sixth and final guide dog, who will bew named Lawrie after a friend who has recently suffered a stroke.

The 15 lots which remained unsold after the auction will be donated to Bath Cancer Unit Support Group, which runs a Christmas pop-up shop in The Shires shopping centre in Trowbridge.

Last year, feeling she was getting older, Mrs Dowsett decided to wind down her fundraising efforts.

She still managed to complete a sky dive and now talks about her experiences, which include being a contestant on Anne Robinson’s TV game show, The Weakest Link.