CUSTOMERS at a Hampshire garden centre have raised hundreds of pounds for Wessex Heartbeat.

More than £850 was collected in a wishing well at Haskins' garden centre in West End.

The cash will help fund the Heartbeat Centre - a centre of excellence for training of cardiac staff at Southampton General Hospital.

Darren Galsworthy, Haskins general manager, said: "We're delighted with the amount raised by our kind-hearted customers and are proud to contribute to such a worthwhile cause."

Alan Blair, chief executive of Wessex Heartbeat, added: "We're really pleased that Haskins has chosen to continue supporting Wessex Heartbeat and the money raised will go towards meeting the running costs of our extremely successful Southampton cardiac unit."

The south coast gardening firm has supported Wessex Heartbeat for several years and has collected more than £5,000 through a number of fundraising activities and events.