Two new hospice shops in Sidley

Cllr Armstrong said as he cut the ribbon: "It is wonderful to see this worthwhile cause expanding and extending its charitable venture in sidley - I wish it every success. I think this is something everyone in this area supports and will continue to support."

He was joined by shop manager Julie Cham and two of the Sidley branch's best loved faces - Gussy Brann, who was the longest serving volunteer and is now a loyal customer, and Kath Swain who was the very first volunteer in the original shop.

Cllr Armstrong said: "This is a very exciting time for St Michael's Hospice as we open the ninth Hospice shop and the refurbished shop just along the road.

"It is a totally new concept where the Hospice has seperated the clothing from the home wares to allow the customers more room to shop, and to be able to present the stock in a clearer manner.

"Both the new and refurbished shop have been branded in the new St Michael's Hospice identity which will be rolled out to the remaining shops in the near future.

"All the work has been carried out by the Hospice maintenance team under the guidance of Tim Faulkes, maintenance manager, and they have to be congratulated on their hard work and high quality of workmanship."

As shoppers piled inside to check out the new layout and stock, area trading co-ordinator Chris Jones said: "I think this is a special day for St Michael's Hospice on the opening of a brand new shop and the refurbishment of an existing shop. The support we have had also from the people of Sidley and Bexhill has been amazing. Both shops are going to be very successful."

At the clothing shop volunteers Liz Gwynne and Lynne Nuts were ready to man the till, as Liz commented: "It is great ... we love working here - otherwise we would not do it!"

Meanwhile down the road, Mary Hutton had come to watch mum Kath take part in the opening ceremony and receive a bouquet of flowers.

She remembered the years Kath volunteered at the hospice shop, frequently taking donated clothes home to wash them herself. Kath was a lifelong bargain hunter herself who kitted out her children with finds from jumble sales.

Kath, now 85 and a resident of Festival Gardens, said: "We couldn't afford new clothes. The only time my husband had a new suit was when our daughters got married.

"Otherwise we never had new things - it was always from jumble sales. I used to love doing the search - I was raised to enjoy doing that.

"Then I loved doing the shop; we used to say if there had only been shops like this when my girls were young."