The achievements of dedicated volunteers for Macmillan Cancer Support in St Albans and Harpenden have been recognised.

During an awards ceremony, chair of the St Albans fundraising committee Avril Foster and chair of the Harpenden fundraising committee Sue Hobley received gold awards for their long-standing service to the charity.

Ms Foster first started volunteering with Macmillan in 1975 after being involved with jumble sales in support of the charity.

She said: "In the 1980s I became a committee member and climbed up the ladder from there.

"The award was a lovely and thoughtful surprise but the main aim for us all is to give something back to the charity, for the support that was once given to ourselves and to our family members."

After receiving her award, Ms Holby said: "It was nice to be recognised for my service to the charity. It was lovely to meet other fundraising volunteers and to share ideas."

Macmillan’s current fundraising efforts will contribute to the building of the new Macmillan Cancer Centre based at the Lister Hospital in Stevenage.

Kerry Briars, charity fundraising manager for Hertfordshire: "We couldn’t raise the funds that we do in Hertfordshire without devoted people like our volunteers.

"We really appreciate them giving up their time to help us and raise money for families affected by cancer."