TV ACTRESS Stephanie Cole OBE has praised charity volunteers in Wiltshire for their fantastic fundraising efforts on behalf of the Bath Cancer Unit Support Group (BCUSG) which has raised a staggering £5m to date.

The actress, best known for her roles in the TV shows Still Open All Hours and Tenko, is president of the BCUSG which has just reached the milestone figure having raised funds for the cancer unit at Bath’s Royal United Hospital (RUH) since 1985.

More than £530,000 of the total has been raised by members of the Trowbridge branch of the BCUSG, which is one of the Wiltshire Times’s featured charities for 2020.

Branch volunteers recently raised a record £11,200 at the Christmas wishing tree and bric-a-brac shop, organised by the Castle Place Shopping Centre management.

BCUSG president Stephanie Cole said: “Reaching a fundraising total of £5m is an amazing achievement for a small charity like ours, wholly run by volunteers. We couldn’t have done it without the fantastic efforts of all our helpers who have worked tirelessly to help improve outcomes for cancer patients from across Bath and Wiltshire.

“They include our brilliant team of volunteers in Trowbridge and others who have organised some amazing events over the years to raise vital funds for the cancer unit at the RUH.”

Stephanie added: “We would also like to thank staff at Chiquito in Trowbridge who have raised £2,000 during the last six months, organisers of the Edington Ball for their £1,100 donation, Gooding Accounts of Westbury and Pearson May in Trowbridge for their ongoing fundraising efforts. All these donations mount up and allow us to do great things.

“Our thanks also go to the Rotary Club in Bradford on Avon for agreeing to devote their next golf day to raising funds for the charity. We need as many people as possible to take part in what promises to be a great day of golf and help us transform the treatment of breast cancer patients locally.

“We would also like to say a big thank you to the Wiltshire Times for including us as one of their featured charities for 2020.”

The charity is now calling on Wiltshire’s golfers to swing for the charity and help fund vital medical equipment to improve the treatment of breast cancer patients at the RUH.

The Rotary Club in Bradford on Avon has agreed that all money raised from its annual Golf Day at Cumberwell Park on May 19 will go to the charity to fund a portable ultrasound machine which costs £5,000.

The handheld device, which provides high-quality ultrasound images, will enable doctors at the RUH to make real-time decisions in the operating theatre when performing surgery on breast cancer patients.

The Rotary Club and BCUSG are appealing for more players to compete in the golf day and help them smash their fundraising target.

To take part in the Golf Day contact Dan Conley – dc@bremeridge.com. To make a donation to the Bath Cancer Unit Support Group please email fundraising@bcusg.org or phone 07896 741233.