A £500 donation to help the Tenby Talking Newspaper is just one of the ways in which the town’s Masonic Lodge is helping local good causes.

After hearing that the volunteer-run newspaper - which reaches over 60 visually-impaired people each week - was in need of a new CD duplicator, the lodge stepped in with their financial gift.

Said the lodge’s Worshipful Master, David Embra: “A lot of the charitable work that we do goes unnoticed, and it’s important that we step forward to show people

what we are doing within the community.

“Charity is the cornerstone of Freemasonry and we work tirelessly to raise funds from within our own ranks to support local registered charities,good causes and young people through financial contributions as well as our time."

The new CD duplicator has been welcomed by the teams who produce the Tenby Talking Newspaper, who take turns each week to make a 9am start every Friday at Saundersfoot Methodist Church to ensure that the CDs containing spoken highlights of that week’s Tenby Observer are in the post that day.

Similar teams from Pembrokeshire Talking Newspapers also work each week to record the Western Telegraph and the Milford Mercury.

The Tenby Talking Newspaper was set up in 1999 and all its funding comes from donations.

Said its chairman, Eva Rich: “We have been very lucky over the years with the donations we have received, and this latest one from

the Tenby Masonic Lodge is particularly welcome.

“We couldn’t run the service without our volunteers, who each choose the stories they are going to record, making sure they include the most popular

items, which are obituaries and news from 50 years ago.”

*Any visually-impaired person who would like to receive a talking newspaper can contact Eva on 01834 812868.