A TRIO of boys handed over £165 to Dorset Search and Rescue (DorSAR) after a successful carol singing session around their village.

Beaminster School pupil Andrew Marsh, 12, his brother Leo, 10, who attends Greenford Primary School and Robert Robertson, 11, who attends Dorset Studio School, started carol singing around Maiden Newton on Christmas Eve four years ago and got the fundraising bug. They have now raised nearly £600 for different charities.

Representatives of DorSAR handed the boys certificates to mark their achievement this week.

Robert said: “We do it because we enjoy it and we like knowing we have done a good thing for the charities.

“This year we couldn’t stop laughing while we were singing to people. One house gave us cans of Coke as well as money and then I burped through Little Donkey at the next house, which made us hysterical.

“Fortunately people still enjoyed our singing!”

Dorset Search & Rescue is a team of highly trained volunteers who work with the police, coastguard and other emergency services in the search, rescue or recovery of missing people.

They also provide swift and flood water rescue teams and help in crime-based searches and help in major incidents.

It costs £32,000 a year to keep DorSAR going.

To donate, go to dorsar.org.uk/donations