A city charity shop is celebrating 20 years of fundraising to help people in need of support in their relationships.

The Relate charity Shop, in Queens Road, first started trading in November 1992 and to celebrate the store's landmark anniversary staff and volunteers decorated the store with balloons and treated customers to sweets.

Liz Farrow, the general manager of Relate in Norfolk and Suffolk, said: 'Our shops are so important to our work to be able to make counselling affordable to all local people. All the money raised here is used locally.

'I would like to say a big thank you to all the volunteers and staff who have helped us over the past 20 years.'

She added: 'The need for us to raise funds in this way has definitely not diminished over the 20 years.

'Our customers come in to pick up a bargain in these hard times and are very happy when they find out that the money raised in our charity shop goes to local people to help them with counselling.

'Customers are pleasantly surprised that all the profit the shop raises goes directly to supporting local families by reducing their fees for counselling.'

As well as raising valuable funds, the shop also gives people useful work experience.

Miss Farrow said there are about 15 volunteers who work at the shop and three part-time shop managers, and two of the staff and two of the volunteers have worked at the shop since it opened.

Miss Farrow added that she also wanted to thank all the loyal customers who have supported the store over the years.

'I must say a big thank you to all our regular customers,' she said.

'The shop on Queens Road is one of three run by the charity in Norwich and we are always very grateful to receive good quality items such as clothes, shoes, books, bric-a-brac, jewellery etc to sell in the shop for our cause, as well as textiles and shoes for recycling.' Relate's other charity shops in Norwich are in Grove Road and Vauxhall Street. The shops are especially in need of donations of winter clothes at the moment.

For more about Relate visit www.relate.org.uk

Is your organisation celebrating a landmark anniversary? Call reporter Emma Knights on 01603 772428 or email emma.knights@archant.co.uk