VOLUNTEERS just cannot give enough to Bolton Hospice.

The charity has the highest volunteer contribution time among hospices with under 10 shops in the UK, a survey has revealed.

As well as clocking up 274 volunteer-hours per week, the hospice also had the UK’s second highest average number of volunteers per shop at 46 — double the national average.

The figures come from the Charity Retail Association’s annual Charity Shops Survey.

Cathy Wright, Bolton Hospice shops manager, said: “Our volunteers are the lifeblood of our charity shops and we have around 400 of them who give their time every week to help raise funds for the hospice in this way. We are delighted to have ranked so highly in this national survey and it shows the rest of the country that the people of Bolton are amongst the most generous when it comes to giving their time for a good cause.”

Bolton Hospice recently opened a new charity shop in Knowsley Street in Bolton town centre.

The hospice opened its doors to patients in 1992 but its first charity shop was opened four years earlier, in Victory Street, Bolton.

The hospice’s other charity shops are in Astley Bridge, Horwich, Little Lever, Tonge Moor and Westhoughton, as well as a gift shop at the hospice site and a furniture shop opening next month in Manchester Road.

It soon moved to its current location in Chorley Old Road and, in its first week of trading, raised £200, which contributed to the cost of building Bolton Hospice.

Anyone interested in becoming a Bolton Hospice shop volunteer can contact 01204 663 063.