Margaret Sutherland, proprietor of the village's post office and store, has been making about four batches of tablet a week for the past three years in a bid to raise £5000 to buy a hearing dog for the deaf.

Thanks to the support of sweet-toothed villagers who've been snapping it up almost as fast as Margaret can make it, she's just achieved her goal.

The money will provide a hearing-impaired person with a specially-trained dog that can act as their 'ears', alerting them to sounds such as doorbells, telephones and smoke alarms.

Margaret's latest achievement brings the total she's raised over the past six years to a whopping £10,000.

Her first £5000 was spent on Shandy, a guide dog for the blind that went on to produce nine puppies — all of which were in turn trained as guide dogs.

Margaret's remarkable fund-raising activities began after a stay in hospital, where she was treated for cancer.

She said: "I had so many flowers and cards from well-wishers in the village that I wanted to thank them in some way — and the only thing I could think of was making tablet for them.

"They liked it so much that they said I should start selling it, so I did — and that's when I got the idea to donate the money for charity."

Margaret fits her tablet-making around her 14-hour working days with the help of the village hall caretaker Violet Crawford, who also boosted the funds by knitting Easter chicks which she sold for £1 a time.

Now that she's hit her second £5000 target, Margaret has no intention of hanging up her pinny.

She said: "I intend to carry on making and selling tablet for charity, although I haven't decided which one yet.

"I want to thank all the villagers who have supported these charity collections over the years.

"By all doing a little bit, it's amazing what we can achieve."