A BOURNEMOUTH store manager who hiked across Dartmoor in aid of Marie Curie has helped put his team on track to raise £3,000 for the charity in a year.

Dave Curtis, manager at the Wilko store in the Sovereign Shopping Centre, Boscombe, completed the gruelling 13-mile trek in six hours, as part of a year of fundraising for the store’s chosen charity.

It means his team at Wilko’s have now raised more than £2,700 in 10 months in aid of Marie Curie, which supports people with terminal illness – and now they’re on track to raise £3,000 by May, when their fundraising year ends.

The charity is close to the hearts of many staff members at Wilko’s who have lost relatives, but the achievement is particularly poignant for Dave who lost his father-in-law to cancer six years ago.

Dave says he’s overwhelmed by the support of shoppers who have donated to the cause and he praised the fundraising efforts of his staff who have also held regular book and cake sales to help raise money.

The 48-year-old, who has managed the store since 2009, said: "Our fundraising year runs from May to May - and Marie Curie is our chosen charity.

"We're nearly 10 months in and we've raised £2,700 as a store which is our best year so far.

"We raised £2,000 last year, so we've done really well. We're planning a few more events so by the end of the year we could easily hit the £3,000 mark.

"The money has mainly come from book sales at the front of the store, where we ask customers for a minimum donation of 50p, cake sales and coffee mornings."

Talking about the hike across Dartmoor National Park, he said: "You need a good level of fitness. I wouldn't say I was brilliant but I'm not too bad.

"It was very strenuous trekking across Dartmoor with lots of hills and climbing.

"It's more intense than anything I've ever done before for charity but it was very rewarding."

Dave Curtis, manager at the Wilko store in the Sovereign Shopping Centre in Boscombe, with staff.