A GUIDE dog puppy named Bumble brought smiles to the faces of staff at M&S in Cwmbran as the store faced the axe.

The 10-month-old black Labrador, being raised in Pontypool, attended the store with three guide dog friends – Portia, Alfie and Ricky - to thank staff and customers for supporting Guide Dogs Cymru.

Staff set a target of £5,000 to name and meet a guide dog puppy, which will be called Sparkle. The puppy would normally visit its sponsors at five months plus, and Guide Dogs Cymru did not want the store to miss out.

Allison Charles, community fundraiser for Guide Dogs Cymru, said: “The store did a brilliant job to raise money for Sparkle, and we felt sorry that staff and customers might not get to meet the puppy. We decided to thank them by bringing Bumble to the store with some of her guide dog friends.

“Staff will obviously be moving on, but we will stay in touch, and when Sparkle is old enough we will try to arrange a meeting for as many of them as possible.”

Store manager, Rob Barrett, said: "Guide Dogs is a brilliant charity, and the visit has uplifted people to see something amazing at what is a bad time for us. We've been looking forward to it all week.

“It was also nice to meet the working guide dogs and see the difference they make to people’s lives.”

To find out more about naming a guide dog puppy, visit www.guidedogs.org.uk/how-you-can-help/fundraise/name-a-puppy/