THE kind-hearted volunteer work of a Redditch resident has resulted in a £500 donation to the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, courtesy of his employers.

Tony Kelly's employer HSBC UK donated the money as part of its Pound for Pound scheme, which matches money raised or time donated by the employee in their own time to a registered UK charity.

As Tony has volunteered for 50 hours at the trust's nature reserves at £10 an hour, the bank sent the trust £500.

Tony, a member of the Redditch bird-ringing group, said: “I’m very grateful to HSBC UK that they have this scheme in place.

"I have been volunteering as a bird-ringer for many years and it’s great that my efforts have been doubled by this donation.

“I can only claim for the volunteering hours that I undertake but when you consider that there are several of us in the group who carry out these activities, many more hours of volunteering are undertaken."

Bird-ringing is a licensed activity that is undertaken on behalf of the British Trust for Ornithology and its results form part of long-term scientific studies that further enhance our understanding of birds.

Mike Perry, head of resources at the trust, said: “We’d like to say a big thank you to Tony for all the work he and his group have undertaken on our nature reserves as well as to thank HSBC UK for matching Tony’s efforts with a donation."

Michaela Wright, HSBC UK’s head of corporate sustainability, added: “We are proud to support our colleagues to help them make a real difference up and down the country.”