A VOLUNTEER has been honoured for her work at a Wirral charity helping the homeless and needy.

As well as giving up her spare time to help at the Charles Thompson Mission, Amy Stanley has also raised more than £25,000 for the charity in the last 18 months through overnight sleep-outs and car boot sales.

She is among an army of volunteers at the mission, based in Hemingford Street, Birkenhead, which opens its doors to more than 70 people five days a week, offering them hot meals and a chance to escape the poverty they have become so accustomed to.

Her efforts have been recognised with a 'community diamond' hero award by UK insurance broker Swinton Group. The honour also included a £1,000 donation and food for the mission.

The firm launched a nationwide search as part of its diamond anniversary to find ten 'diamonds' who make a difference in their local communities.

Amy was presented with her cheque by Swinton Group CEO Gilles Normand at the insurance broker's headquarters in Manchester.

She said: "This will make a huge difference to the mission.

"We're only a small charity which relies entirely on donations.

"At the moment, we use a volunteer’s van to transport and collect donations, so the £1,000 will go towards purchasing our own van.

"It'll also help us to buy essential items such as clothing, food and toiletries, and contribute towards the costs of finding accommodation for the homeless."

The team at Swinton’s headquarters has also organised a collection of tinned and non-perishable food for the Mission.

Gilles Normand, CEO of Swinton Group, said: "We designed our search for 'Swinton Diamonds' to celebrate local heroes like Amy and the fantastic work being done across our communities.

"We hope this donation and food collection will support the invaluable work that she and the Mission do to support the homeless.

"Community spirit is incredibly important to us at Swinton, so this is our chance to give something back to those who go the extra mile."

Swinton Group is donating to community organisations and charities up and down the country throughout August and September as part of its 60th anniversary celebrations.

The mission was opened in 1892 by grocer Charles Thompson.

He died in 1903, but his goals lived on through daughter Annie who took over and was the charity's Lady Superintendent for 60 years.

She was awarded the MBE in 1953 for services to the people of Birkenhead.

The mission provides food, furniture, clothes, healthcare, counselling services and even toys for the borough's poorest children.

It is now run by Bernie Frost, who first got involved 12 years ago as a volunteer and has been manager for five years.