Jacquie's generous gesture is a gift for young carers

For Jacquie Devlin asked for donations for the Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Young Carers, instead of gifts to mark her recent 80th birthday.

Family and friends honoured the request and, as a result she was able to donate £600 to the scheme which Jacquie, who was recently installed as the new president of the Burnley Lions club, has championed for many years.

The cash will now be put towards outings and trips for the young carers who are classed as someone under the age of 18 who looks after a parent, sibling or other relative with a mental health or substance abuse problem.

Young Carers manager Jenny Cocker said: "This is a wonderful donation that will give the young carers a chance to have some fun and relax doing things that every other child does but they don't often get the chance because of their responsibilities.

"We will ask them what they would like to do."

Young Carers was established in 2000 as a project within Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Council for Voluntary Services.

The CVS provides a range of services directly to young carers to help recognise the hard work they do every day and to help them manage with the emotional strain of caring, as well as providing them with regular breaks from their caring role.

Over the past 10 years, it has helped and supported over 500 young carers from across Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale.

The CVS also works to raise awareness of young carers, their needs and the huge range of support available to them. It also identifies many "hidden" young carers by working with schools, mental health teams and drug and alcohol groups.