SALES of hot chocolate at a popular café have helped a charity keep the elderly warm this winter.

Sprout, in St John’s Street, Devizes, donated £1 from the sale of its Winter Warmer hot chocolate drinks to the Wiltshire Community Foundation’s Surviving Winter appeal.

The appeal gave £300 grants to the elderly and vulnerable living in fuel poverty to help them keep their homes warm.

This year’s campaign, which ran from October to March, raised £79,800 and made 266 grants, which helped 384 beneficiaries.

Sprout owner Glen Hickey said he and his team were delighted to have helped. “It is such a good cause and we felt the hot chocolate was the ideal thing to help raise some money. We try to provide great, locally-sourced food and drinks and this has been really popular with our customers.”

The café is owned and managed by Mr Hickey and Jess Shergold, who have been in business since December 2016. Mrs Shergold’s daughter Lily also works there. The cafe, which opens six days a week between 8.30am and 5pm, is a regular meeting place for people who live and work nearby. Its Twitter and Facebook accounts are also popular with customers.

WCF director of development and marketing Fiona Oliver said: “The majority of people who suffer premature winter-related death are aged over 65, and 75 per cent of these deaths are due to the impact that cold has on respiratory and circulatory conditions.

“Support from businesses like Sprout make a huge difference and we are incredibly grateful that they are so community minded.”