I would like to say thank you to the three million players of People’s Postcode Lottery in Britain, in an incredibly challenging year for us all.

Since 2005 those playing have raised over £600 million for good causes, which is just incredible.

Over £6m of this we have been grateful to receive at Sightsavers.

Money raised by players has been indispensable in helping Sightsavers to fund, in 2020 alone, eye services for more than 49,000 people and more than 500 sightsaving cataract surgeries.

This year funding also helped us support the COVID-19 response.

Children with disabilities kept learning throughout the pandemic, thanks to distance learning equipment and teacher training, PPE and hygiene kits.

So once again, a big thank you to all the players in the North West for your generosity.

Dr Caroline Harper CBE, Sightsavers chief executive