ONCE again Mary Phillips, 77, of St Teath has pulled out all the stops to raise money for the Devon and Cornwall Air Ambulance.

She held an auction and raffle at Trethorne Leisure Park, near Launceston, which saw over 100 visitors bidding on some 132 lots, well into the early hours of the morning.

This event follows on from Mary’s celebratory event last year after she received the British Empire Medal from the Queen for her services to charity.

Mary said: “Last year I was presented with a BEM by the Queen. I had 135 people come along and I paid for a carvery for all of them to celebrate — well, I can’t go doing that every year so those who came this year bought their own but we still held an auction and raffle and it was the most fantastic evening.

“After last year’s event everyone kept saying to me ‘do it again, do it again’, I thought about it and decided that yes, I would do it again! We had such a good time last year and I wanted that again — and I certainly lived up to it.”

The auction and raffle event raised £2,600 for Devon and Cornwall Air Ambulance, who Mary said were ‘incredible’ when they attended to her mother a few years ago who was having a stroke.

She said: “Within minutes of calling 999 an air ambulance was overhead and paramedics were coming up the driveway. I thought then that the vital helicopter needs to be paid for — for fuel etc — so why not support them? They provide such a worthwhile service.”

Mary said she was delighted that James Morrish, auctioneer for Kivells, had been able to come along and take the auction. She said: “James Morrish was fantastic! There were around 132 lots, big and small things. We even had someone dressed up in a cow costume and James had a joke about selling him — because he is a cattle auctioneer — the whole crowd laughed. Everyone was smiling and that means everything for me, to know they all had a good time.”

Mary also made a spectacular cake that was not available for long. Mary said: “I made this whopping great cake for everyone. It was huge, about 14 inches by ten inches wide. I had to ice it myself as the person who usually does it for me was away. But I gave it a go. At the end of the evening there was not a crumb of cake left — so I knew I had made a good one!”

Mary told the Post she started fundraising at the age of 11 and doesn’t plan on stopping any time soon. She organises most of her charity events herself, with no help from a committee, but she added: “My husband Peter helps out when needed, he is a big support”.

When asked if she will hold an event next year, she said: “We will do it again next year. I don’t mind doing it, as long as I’m still alive — I am 77.”