THREE days a week, for the past 13 years, Mary Adair has carried bags, served on the counter and sifted through bric-a-brac donated by well-wishers.

There isn't much glamour in working at a charity shop.

The 75-year-old, from Meadowfield, volunteers to help out in the St Cuthbert's Hospice shop, in Langley Moor - one of five outlets that generate a quarter of the hospice's annual income.

"It is pretty hard work, heaving bags of stuff around," she said. "Sometimes I go home with my back aching."

The former home help agreed to assist the hospice after an appeal for volunteers through her local church.

She lost her husband, Samuel, after a long fight against Alzheimer's disease on the day the shop opened - but started work two weeks later.

She said: "I couldn't face a hands-on job in the hospice itself, and I thought the best way to help was with fundraising in the shop.

"I enjoy it, you get to meet people and I think it has done me a lot of good."

Mary is typical of the volunteers on which the hospice relies - all put in countless hours for the good of "the guests", yet all speak of getting as much out of the experience as they put in.

There are 321 active volunteers on the hospice's books - about 100 based at the hospice, in Merryoaks, another 120 working in the shops and the rest called upon for regular fundraising activities.

They provide an army of drivers, cooks, gardeners, and carers on which the hospice has come to rely and volunteer co-ordinator Amy Farquhar is full of admiration for their selfless dedication.

"We couldn't run it without them," she said. "We absolutely could not manage without them, they are so dedicated."

A recent study by the hospice discovered that to pay the volunteers for the work they do would cost about £650,000 a year and the average volunteer carried out the equivalent of seven-and-a-half full-time working weeks a year.

They come from all walks of life, although it has to be said that most are retired and have a little extra time on their hands, although the hospice does attract a number of students.

Many know the hospice because a relative was cared for there, others come forward through word-of-mouth recruitment.

It is a serious business. Some roles require police checks, all need references and Amy looks for signs of commitment before taking a volunteer on.

Once on the books, volunteers are given full and continuing training - one of the reasons why the hospice has just won the Muriel Sheppard Award for Volunteer Organisation of the Year, from Chester-le-Street Volunteer Bureau.

Some volunteers could be put off working in such a potentially-harrowing environment, but Amy, originally from Lancashire, does not see it that way.

She said: "We can see there are poorly people but, in general, I don't think anyone is frightened by it - death is part of life and it is a great privilege to be here. A lot of the volunteers feel that they receive more than they give. It is challenging, but it is rewarding."

Perhaps unexpectedly, for a place in which many people are dying, the volunteers describe working at St Cuthbert's with an overwhelming sense of fun.

Margaret Hunt, from Langley Moor, came to St Cuthbert's for a brief placement while studying a counselling course and, 14 years later, is still there, helping out as a carer and driving the minibus.

She said: "It wasn't like I thought it was going to be.

"You don't walk around on egg shells, its fun, its happy, the atmosphere is unbelievable.

"You have to be strong for the guests and you have a job to do.

"This can be the last place they ever see and I could be the last face they ever see.

"It has definitely changed my outlook on life."

Dorothy Carruthers, a former nurse from Belmont, works in the kitchens alongside her husband, Paul, who has just started as chef. They prepare a hot nutritious meal for the guests, as well as a neverending supply of tea and scones

The 57-year-old said: "You are on your feet most of the time and it gets hot in there in the summer, but it is a good laugh and you are on a continuous learning curve."

Fellow volunteer Gerry Kelly, a 74-year-old retired probation service worker from Neville's Cross, tends the gardens and six acres of woodland.

He said: "Its enjoyable because it's such a lovely place to work - it is so tranquil and peaceful. The rewards are meeting a lot of nice people and being part of a community within the community."