A new unique business in Dorchester has already been doing its bit for charity. 

Crafty Gift Boutique, located on Trinity Street, opened at the end of May. 

Last week owner Cheryl Warburton handed a cheque of £134 over to the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance. 

The money was raised from the first week of sales at the store – with 10 per cent being donated to the lifesaving charity.

Cheryl said: “The traders and I decided straight away that we wanted to do something to support a charity.

“We had a few ideas but most of the traders said the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance.

“So we decided that 10 per cent of what we sold in the first week would go to them.”

Ron Bishop from the Dorset and Somerset Ambulance was delighted with the donation.

He said: “I want to thank the traders and Cheryl for the donation. We are very very grateful.

“Every penny really does help. We get donations from kids, throwing pennies in our buckets, to cheques like this and even bigger cheques and we are grateful for every single donation.

“With the loss of the Portland Coastguard Helicopter, there is even more demand on us.”

The Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is a registered charity, receives no direct funding from the Government or the National Lottery and relies entirely on the generosity of the public for support.

Its operational costs are more than £2million a year and the approximate cost per mission is £2,500.

Cheryl added: “All our items in store are handmade.

“I am a crafty person myself and I thought there was a gap in the area for this type of store.

“There are so many talented people and it’s nice to be able to support them here and have their items somewhere different to an emporium.

“We are open from 9.30am to 9pm, so come on in.”

For more information search Crafty Gift Boutique on Facebook.