A mental health charity is more than £3,000 better off thanks to supermarket shoppers.

This time last year TheHorseCourse, based in Weymouth, was chosen to be part of the Coop Community Fund, which raises thousands for local good causes every year.

TheHorseCourse CEO Harriet Laurie, from Askerswell, has just been presented with a cheque for more than £3,268 from the fundraising year.

Harriet set up the charity in 2010 and has seen it expand from a two-horse ‘experiment’ to see if working with horses could help young offenders at the Portland YOI, to a world leader in the field of equine assisted learning. In the last decade has helped more than a 1,000 people improve their mental health when more traditional talking therapies weren’t working.

The charity now rents part of a former dairy farm, has 16 horses and five full time staff, so fundraising is always top of the agenda – which is why the charity was so grateful to be included in the Coop Community Fund.

Harriet said: “We are thrilled to have been chosen by the Chickerell Road Coop and so impressed with the staff there.

“They chose us particularly because of the work we do with ASD children if they are struggling to process and manage their emotions.

“The day I went to collect the cheque they were getting ready to put on a special dinner for elderly local residents and they had a stall going to raise more community funds - they are a small team but doing so much for their local community.

“I came away absolutely inspired by what people can do when they pull together! I would also like to say a massive thank you to all the Coop customers who chose us on their membership cards and donated in the store.

“We are planning to use the money to build an extra barn so that all our horses have somewhere cosy and warm to lie down when the weather is rotten as at present. They are the soul of our organisation and deserve to have the very best home we can provide.”

For anyone who wants to donate or learn more about the charity there is more information on its website www.thehorsecourse.org or on its Facebook page.