A SPORTS shop chain has bagged St Michael's Hospice thousands of pounds thanks to a generous fundraising idea.

Clubsport is exempt from charging customers for its carrier bags but does so anyway, with all the money being donated to the Hospice and the Hereford-based Little Princess Trust.

The firm's managing director Simon Hussey handed over £3,111 to each charity, collected during the past year, taking the total raised for St Michael's to around £8,000 since the idea launched on 2016.

Mr Hussey has a close connection to the Hospice, and said customers are more than happy to donate.

He said: "People are so generous. Some of our customers have even given us £1 for a bag after hearing we were giving the money to the Hospice."

Clubsport has seven stores across Herefordshire and mid-Wales, with the carrier bag donations being boosted after he extended the idea to other retail businesses that Clubsport partners across the UK.

Paul Broome from St. Michael's said: "To raise this much money from the sale of 5p carrier bags is just astonishing.

"It's also heart-warming to hear that so many customers are happy to part with the money, often giving much more than 5p as they know it's going to St Michael's.

"So, thank you to Simon, everyone at Clubsport and their very generous customers for supporting us in this way."

The Little Princess Trust, where the other £3,111 is going, provides real hair wigs to children and young adults experiencing hair loss, as well as funding research into childhood cancer.