Mavis Golding, a member of St Thomas-on-The Bourne Church, has been masterminding and directing the parish’s collections for the Christian Aid charity since 1985, a total of 38 years.

The vicar, the Rev Sandy Clarke, calculated that during that time the sum of more than £200,000 has been raised to relieve poverty in parts of the world suffering from natural disasters and warfare.

Mavis has run a team of dozens of street collectors distributing envelopes house to house through the parish during Christian Aid Week in May, but also arranges a series of six weekly concerts at the church leading up to Easter.

The artistes are local musicians whose performances are much appreciated and Mavis has another team who provide a simple lunch after the concert.

Thirty-eight years is a long time, however, and Mavis has finally decided to hand over the reins. In recognition of her devoted service, she was presented with a bunch of flowers amid a storm of applause from the congregation on Sunday – although she protested that the credit should really go to her many helpers.

The picture shows her in the beautiful church gardens afterwards with her husband Frank.