STAFF at a Blackwood opticians raised £1,511 for a cancer care charity by taking on a 100ft abseil.

Thirteen Specsavers staff took part in the abseil at Penallta Rocks to try to raise as much money as possible for the charity through donations.

Store staff had also been offering a cleaning service for glasses to all customers in the last few weeks in exchange for a small donation. Specsavers is an official fundraising partner of Velindre and all proceeds raised by the branch will go towards cancer research and providing care for cancer suffers and their families in Wales.

Jonathan Evans, director of the Blackwood store, said: “Specsavers is a community opticians and sadly, as we all know, every community is affected by cancer. Velindre is a cause very important to us and to many of our customers, so we are proud to be supporting the charity and the valuable work it does.

“We would like to thank all our family, friends and the local community who supported in this fundraising mission.

“There were a few nerves on the day but the team managed to overcome the heights. All of the staff are delighted to have raised such a fantastic amount of money, and knowing it will be put to excellent use.”