DEVIZES Guides and Brownies packed shoppers' bags for them at Sainsbury's and raised £898.

The youngsters, together with group leaders, spent eight hours at the supermarket's checkouts on Saturday.

They did stints of two hours and were delighted with the amount they raised which will go into the fund for a new Guide centre.

Ann Lovelock, the district commissioner of Devizes and District Guides, said: "It was hard work but raising that amount of money was brilliant.

"On the whole customers were happy for us to pack their shopping, especially the men, and they donated loose change to use."

Mrs Lovelock added: "We did a bag packing event over four hours earlier in the year and that raised £444 so we were delighted to have doubled the amount we raised."

The Guide centre fund stands at almost £45,000 after four years of fundraising.

The Guides want to build a centre to house all the Guide, Brownie and Rainbow units in Devizes.

They were previously based at the London Road Youth Centre but had to leave when Wiltshire County Council decided to use the centre to teach pupils who have been excluded from mainstream schools.

The Guides' planning application for a centre to be built on land at Gypsy Patch, off Coate Road, was refused by Kennet District Council in September, but a new more detailed application is about to be submitted.