A St Albans garden centre has raised nearly £9,000 for a charity which aims to prevent sudden cardiac death in young people.

Burston Garden Centre on North Orbital Road made CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) its chosen charity after a member of staff lost his son to sudden cardiac death.

For the last couple of years, the garden centre has raised more than £8,800 for CRY through various events, including raffles, the garden centre's 40th anniversary celebration and donating the £1 adult entrance fee from their Santa's Grotto.

Garden centre owners Enid Pearson and Eileen Priestland said: "This is a charity that is close to our hearts, so we are delighted to have raised such a significant amount for 'Cardiac Risk in the Young'."

Each week, around 12 people aged 35 and under in the UK lose their lives to sudden cardiac death, which the charity now believes is a conservative estimate. They aim to provide young people with screenings to help prevent the condition, which in 80 per cent of cases has no signs or symptoms. CRY's screening programme now tests more than 30,000 young people in the UK each year.

CRY chief executive Dr Steven Cox said: "On behalf of all of us at CRY, I would like to say a huge 'thank you' to the team at Burston Garden Centre for all their hard work and commitment to CRY's cause.

"The staff, and their customers, have raised a tremendous amount of money for CRY to help support our ongoing mission to prevent the incidence of young sudden cardiac death and we are incredibly grateful for their efforts."

The garden centre has chosen mental health charity Mind in Mid Herts as its next charity to support.

Mind in Mid Herts chief executive Sharn Tomlinson said: "As a local charity we are so pleased that Burston Garden Centre has recognised the work we do and is willing to support us.

"As a local Mind, affiliated to national Mind, we are completely independent and reliant on fundraising to provide services to local people.

"We are always so thrilled when a local company supports us as it's such a great way to raise our profile.

"Thank you to all the team at Burston, we are looking forward to working with you."