THREE charities in Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge have benefitted from a £3,000 boost from the Co-op’ s rewards scheme .

Customers wh o shop at the Co-op in Highbridge have donated more than £3,000 since September last year to Highbridge Foodbank, BARB Search and Rescue and Secret Worl d Wildlife Rescue .

Mar k Whitefield, store manager at the Co-op in Highbridge, said: “This is a great scheme that not only benefits our customers but more impor - tantly the community we live in.

“We want to be at the heart of the community and this is a great way for our members to give something back.”

Wayne Sadlier from Highbridge Foodbank said the donation of £1,016 would be a big boost for the foodbank.

He said: “We are just a channel to help people in the community suffering from food poverty and with costs like rent and insurances to manage this one per cent donation will allow us to continue to do that.”

Members of the Co-op who bought own brand products in their stores saw one per cent of the value of each product be donated to one of the three charities .

Samantha Hannay from Secret World Wildlife Rescue said they were thrilled when they received a donation of £1,163 from the Co-op and said the money will make a huge difference to the animals it cares for.

She said: “The donation received from Co-op will help to buy tins of specialist milk feed, provide veterinary treatment and vaccinations and advance our wildlife education into more schools and community groups .

“Thank you to all who supported us in this campaign."