NEARLY £100 was raised for a deaf charity by staff at a Loughton travel agent shop during a festive fund-raising event.

Workers at the Co-operative Travel branch in the High Road raised the money with the help of Father Christmas and a raffle for a seasonal hamper.

The branch has now collected a total of nearly £350 for the charity, The Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID), this year.

Travel consultant Natalie Galluzzo said: "We had a really fun day.

"We raised £97 which is quite a lot when you consider it was £1 for the children to meet Santa and £2 to have their photo taken with him - we were very impressed with the turnout.

"We're hoping now we can raise £400 before the end of the year as it's such a worthwhile charity to raise money for."

Other fund-raising events at the branch this year include an Easter egg raffle and a name-the-teddy-bear competition.