SPECSAVERS in Reading has donated £1,400 to Diabetes UK to help stop the number of young people going blind from the condition.

The money was raised through in-store fundraising and entries to the Spectacle Wearer of the Year Awards, where the firm donated £1 for each entry.

A charity auction held to mark World Diabetes Day on November 14 brought in further cash, which contributed to the current total of £174,000 raised nationally by Specsavers stores.

Don Watts, director of the Friar Street store, said: “I am delighted with the amount of money raised within the store to support this extremely worthwhile charity and would like to thank all our customers who gave so generously.

“The funds will be used to assist in the prevention of visual impairment and blindness resulting from diabetes.”

People with the disease are 20 times more at risk of going blind, and 40 per cent of the 2.2 million sufferers in the UK with diabetes have varying degrees of retinopathy.