THE opening of a brand new opticians store saw hundreds of pounds raised for charity and a special visit from the mayor.

The Specsavers branch in Witham has completed its move to the Grove Centre and the new base was officially opened by Mayor Tom Pleasance.

It was also used as a fundraising opportunity for Comic Relief with staff managing to raise £225 by holding a bake sale, a lucky dip for children and a raffle.

Director of Witham Specsavers Jennifer Bowen said: "It was a real honour having Mayor Pleasance down to support our launch.

"The new store is much bigger than our previous one with four optics test rooms and brand new equipment to better look after our community’s eye health.

"We also have a dedicated hear care area for our audiology department."

"Specsavers has been supporting Comic Relief officially since 2015 and we thought this was a great way to start off our fundraising efforts before the big event on March 15.

"We are planning more events over the next few weeks to raise as much money as possible."

Specsavers stores are also selling comedy jester specs at £2 each with all proceeds going to Comic Relief.