A 95-YEAR-OLD woman has donated more than a dozen knitted woolly hats to a Blackburn homeless charity.

Rita Taylor handed 15 colourful hats to Community Spirit after hearing about their work in a story in the Lancashire Telegraph last month.

Mrs Taylor, who was one of eight children, wanted to put her passion for knitting to good use and wanted to help those who sleep outdoors on cold winter nights.

Rita Wilson, Mrs Taylor’s niece, from Great Harwood, said her auntie wanted to do something after hearing about the charity.

She said: “We saw the article about homeless people and we told her about the effort these volunteers go to every night.

“She wanted to do her bit in any way she could, so she knitted these hats.

“They’re really warm and they’re going to be put to valuable use.”

Mrs Taylor, who lives in Preston, said: “I have always been passionate about knitting and I love doing it.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about these poor people being cold on the streets.

“I couldn’t go out to give them food so I thought I would do the next best thing and knit these hats for them.

“I hope they are put to good use and help make the difference.

“No one should be living on the streets.”

Community Spirit volunteers go out every night during the winter months and hand out hot food and supplies to those living on Blackburn streets.

They have recently been given a £2,500 donation to hire a van to distribute more food and supplies.

Angela Ingram, from the charity, said: “We are extremely grateful for the generous donation from Rita.

“The hats look really good and feel very warm, they will make a big difference to someone who will need one during the very cold nights we get.

“Rita is a great example of someone going out their way to do something good and it should be recognised and celebrated."