A PRUDHOE husband and wife team are celebrating national Volunteers’ Week after almost a decade of giving their time to a North-East hospice.

Neville and Sheila Fairbairn began volunteering at the Marie Curie Hospice in Newcastle almost 10 years ago.

Neville began first, volunteering as a driver to take patients to and from the hospice for day therapy sessions.

Sheila joined not long afterwards, starting on the tea round before moving into administration and eventually becoming fund-raising officer volunteer.

“When I first came, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to do the tea trolley because it’s such a personal time for families,” she said.

“My mum had died just a few months before and when I think about it, we didn’t want to leave her side, not even to get a drink.

“I feel privileged to be able to support the families and patients in this way. It might just be a drink, but sometimes that can mean so much.

“Volunteering here has shown just how vital fund-raising is and we’ve gone on to support the charity by completing two treks. One in the Sahara Desert for our 40th wedding anniversary and one in the Grand Canyon.”

Volunteers’ Week is an annual event to celebrate the contributions of millions of volunteers across the country.

Marie Curie’s head of volunteering Debbie Hill said: “Without volunteers we couldn’t deliver the essential support we do. ”