A GRATEFUL mum and her weekly market stall have raised thousands of pounds for the 'wonderful' hospital that saved her daughter's life.

Every Wednesday morning, retired sheep farmer Mary Kendal, 68, travels from Grayrigg to sell bric-à-brac and second-hand goods at Sedbergh's market.

This week Mary adorned her open-air stall with balloons to celebrate having raised £30,000 for The Christie, Manchester's world-famous cancer centre, where her daughter Janet, now 43, was successfully treated in 2010.

"It's incredible, isn't it?" said the mother-of-two, who was a junior clerk in the Kendal borough treasurer's office for Alfred Wainwright before having her children, Janet and Bob. "I can't believe it, really. The Christie hospital are just fantastic. They do wonderful work saving people's lives and they do a lot of very good research. They are learning all the time so it's a worthwhile fund."

Mary's charitable efforts began with a clear-out at home, followed by a car boot sale at Kendal Rugby Club nearly six years ago, then gathered momentum as well-wishers kept supplying her with items to sell, including a maker of walking sticks.

She told the Gazette that the people who bought 'anything and everything' from her Sedbergh stall were 'fantastic'. From May to September she is also a familiar sight at the Sunday car boot sales at Grate Farm, near Kendal.

Mary sends a cheque to The Christie every week, and receives a certificate each time she raises another £1,000. "I don't set targets, I just plod on," said the mother-of-two. "So long as I'm enjoying it and I'm well enough and my family are well enough, I will keep going."