Tinsel-toed team members at the Wilko stores in Sutton and Mansfield have raised a sparkling £280 for John Eastwood Hospice, the store’s regional charity of the year.

Dressed in their finest Santa hats and Christmas jumpers, they invited customers to jingle all the way down to their market stalls at the festive Sutton Town Centre Christmas lights switch-on event.

The team members sold books, sweets, stationery and toys, which were donated by staff and customers, while the choir sang and Santa invited visitors to his sleigh.

Gary Elleston, store manager of Wilko in Sutton-in-Ashfield, said: “With our festive stall, we proved that raising money for our regional charity of the year is ‘snow’ joke!

“I’d like to thank the team and our supportive customers for donating such fantastic products that helped to fundraise a fantastic £280 for the John Eastwood Hospice. We had a lovely day interacting with our local community at the Christmas lights switch-on event – customers really got into the festive spirit and were very generous with their donations.”

Wilko remains a third generation, family-owned business after more than 80 years of trading. JK Wilkinson opened the first Wilko store on Charnwood Street, Leicester, in 1930. The company’s portfolio has expanded significantly over the decades and there are currently 375 stores across the UK, achieving an annual turnover in excess of £1.5 billion.

Serving 10.5 million customers each year and selling over 25,000 product lines, including health & beauty, cleaning products, seasonal essentials and homewares both in store and online at Wilko.com, Wilko is dedicated to providing its customers with high quality well-known brands and own-label products, plus first class, friendly service.

From Wilko Sutton-in-Ashfield: Jodie, Sam, Lisa, Gary; from Wilko Mansfield: Tracey and Alison