A TEAM at a sofa shop has played its part in raising £17m for a charity.

The team at DFS Basingstoke, in Winchester Road, is celebrating after helping the company to raise over £17 million for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) since 2012.

DFS Basingstoke, together with DFS’ more than 100 other stores across the UK, have collectively raised £17,401,769.23 through their sofa donation project to help support the BHF, since the initiative launched in May 2012.

The scheme allows DFS customers to have their unwanted sofa collected for free by the BHF when their new DFS one is delivered.

Their old sofa is then sold by the BHF in one of its 180 furniture and electrical stores across the country to fund research.

Dean Bates, store manager at DFS Basingstoke, said, “It’s sobering to think that on average, 435 people devastatingly lose their lives to cardiovascular disease every day – which is why it is essential that the BHF continues to fund pioneering life-saving research.

“Myself and the entire Basingstoke team are proud to support the British Heart Foundation. We would like to say a big thank you to our customers for their amazing help in supporting such an important cause, by donating their old sofas."