A 97-YEAR-OLD hospice volunteer has no plans to slow down and is urging others to give back to the community.

Gladys Taylor began volunteering at St Rocco's Hospice charity shop in Lymm more than 25 years ago.

Volunteering is an integral part of the work that St Rocco’s Hospice carries out and the hospice is thrilled to be able to highlight the dedication and hard work that the volunteers shows.

Celebrating her 98th birthday in April, Gladys hopes to continue her volunteering, where she serves as the appointed fashion consultant and wants to shine a light on the importance of volunteering to charitable causes.

Gladys said: “I've volunteered for a long time and it's been such a pleasure to work with so many people over the years and to meet all of the wonderful people who come through our doors.

"It’s so important to me to be able to give something back to a cause that does so much good.

"If more people volunteered their time to places like St Rocco’s there would be a lot more kindness shown in the world."

Roz Coleman, voluntary services manager at St Rocco’s, said: “We can’t thank Gladys enough for all of the amazing work that she has done for us over the years, all of our volunteers show such dedication and are an absolute credit to St Rocco’s.

"We truly could not do what we do without them all."

Paul Tongue, retail operations manager added: “Gladys is amazing.

"She's never short of a smile and works like a Trojan!

"Everyone needs to be more like Gladys."

If you have been inspired by Gladys’ story you can register as a volunteer at www.stroccos.org.uk/Get-Involved/Volunteer-Opportunities/Volunteering-Opportunities