A charity golf day at Bigbury Golf Club has raised £3,500 for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.

The event, on Thursday, May 18, has been organised annually for the last nine years by retired Plymouth vet John Bower, who is a trustee of the Hearing Dogs charity.

This year, 56 golfers took part in 14 teams of four on a sunny day, and the event raised £3,500 for the charity.

John Bower, trustee of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, said: “This will go a long way towards the initial training of one of these wonderful dogs each of which become the ears and loyal companion of a deaf person, enabling that person to lead a much more normal life.

“The dogs alert their deaf owner to sounds that they would not otherwise hear such as the telephone, alarm clock, doorbell, kitchen timer and of course smoke alarms, but in addition give them companionship and the confidence to spend time out and about.”

The winning foursome was a local team from Sound Financial Management in Plymouth with Independent Slate Supplies from Saltash coming a close second.

The “wonderful amount” raised would not have been possible, says John Bower, without the “very generous sponsorship by both local and national firms”.

The Veterinary Hospital Group Estover, GA Solicitors, Sound Financial Management, Independent Slate Supplies Saltash, and the Veterinary Insurance Agency sponsored a hole each while Petplan Insurance, Zoetis UK Ltd, and Henry Schein Animal Health sponsored the major golf prizes amounting to some £600.

Brittany Ferries, Ocean BMW and several local restaurants gave valuable prizes for an auction kindly run by Stuart Hext, a local auctioneer from Luscombe Maye in Kingsbridge.

John added: “A local Hearing Dogs owner, Chris, with both his hearing dog Fergus and his retired hearing dog Thelma, spent the afternoon with us and of course the dogs were the real stars of the show.

“Over the 9 years that this golf day has been run, over £31,000 has been raised for this important cause.”

Further information about the charity can be found at on the website: www.hearingdogs.org.uk