A woman from Chirk has had her fundraising efforts recognised after raising over £9,000 for Hope House.

Patricia Kendrick has spent more than 40 years making jams and chutneys and selling them to raise money for charities such as Hope House, Nightingale House Hospice, Wrexham Maelor Hospital and Alder Hey Children's Hospital.

Patricia received a letter from Hope House, based in Oswestry, after her most recent donation to the charity meant that she had raised over £9,000 over the years.

"I was thrilled to bits with my letter," said Patricia.

"You don't really realise how much you've actually done until you see it in writing, so I was over the moon.

"I was also really touched as the charity had taken time to write to me personally. It was a lovely gesture."

The fundraising began around 40 years ago, when money was being raised for a swimming pool in Chirk.

"I started organising to raise money for the swimming pool, and then someone said to me 'why don't you carry on fundraising?', so I did," added Patricia.

Growing all the produce in her two allotments, Patricia picks the fruit and vegetable to turn them in jams and chutneys, before putting them in jars and selling the products from her home.

Patricia, a retired district nurse midwife from Chirk Community Hospital, said she donates to the charities twice a year, giving a couple of hundred pounds each time.

Julie Moody, Patricia's cousin, got in touch with Advertizer after the fundraiser had received the letter and said that her efforts deserved to be recognised.

"Everybody knows Patricia,"said Julie.

"She raises money for the charities all the time, she works so hard.

"People always say thank you to her, but to receive thanks from Hope House itself is really special, and she deserves a lot of recognition for raising all that money

"This is the first time she as received a letter from any charity, and it's so personal which is lovely."

In total, Patricia said she has raised around £30,000 for a variety of charities over 40 years.

"After I received the letter, my partner and I sat down and worked out how much I had raised over the years," continued Patricia.

"You just don't think about it when you do so much over the years."

Patricia, who turns 80 in June, said: "For the past five years I've been saying that I'll stop making jams and chutneys, and raising money, but I still haven't, and I'm not sure I ever will!"