A 10-YEAR-old sold sweet peas to raise money for a charity which looked after her neighbour in her final days.

Maggie Walker, of Clevelode Lane, Clevelode, near Malvern, raised £480 for St Richard's Hospice by selling her home-grown sweet peas.

The youngster sold the flowers outside Waitrose, in Edith Walk, Malvern, in memory of her neighbour Catriona Craig.

Maggie said she decided to sell the sweet peas because her neighbour, who died aged 64, loved the smell of the flowers.

She said: "She said the smell made her feel better.

"She enjoyed gardening and I thought she would like the smell in her room.

"She loved them but then she got more ill. She passed away in July 2015.

"St Richard's made my neighbour very happy. I wanted other people to be happy like when she died there.

"I think people need to be very nice to people who are ill... it's not very nice for them."

The Downs Malvern pupil added that she spoke with Mrs Craig often and was close to the nursery school teacher.

She planted 200 sweet peas in February and recently started selling them to flower shops and outside Waitrose.

Maggie previously raised £400 for St Richard's Hospice by holding a concert.

Her mum and dad, Minnie and Allan, said they were very proud of their daughter.

Mr Walker, aged 42, said his daughter had shown initiative and empathy.

He added that Maggie sold the sweet peas over a six-week period.

Ria Simons, fundraiser at St Richard’s Hospice, said: "We’d like to say a big thank you to Maggie for her excellent work raising money for our hospice care.

"We were so impressed by her dedication to fundraising and knowledge of the hospice.

“We are always very grateful for the kind support of the community in helping fund the hospice’s free, specialist care to patients living with life-limiting illnesses, families and bereaved people across Worcestershire."