A BRANCH of the Samaritans raised almost £3,000 when it opened its own charity shop for four weeks.

The charity's Darlington branch was offered the rent-free use of Dolland and Aitchison's unit in the town, meaning every penny taken went into the Samaritans' work.

The branch director Teddy Irons said: "It was a tremendous effort by a small group of volunteers, who virtually put their lives on hold for four weeks to make the shop a success.

"It costs £15,000 a year to run the branch, which all has to be raised by our own efforts.

There are no paid workers, so every penny goes towards supporting the 20,000 people who rang the branch in the last 12 months.