A BIG-HEARTED fundraiser has been cooking pancakes to raise cash for charity for the last 10 years.

Every year on Pancake Day, Colleen Gould opens the doors of her home, in Winchester Road, Dummer, to dozens of guests, providing them with all-you-can-eat pancakes in return for a donation to charity Save the Children.

She has so far raised more than £2,500 through the open-house event, which she runs between midday and 5.30pm.

Colleen, 74, first began running the event in 2003, when she was secretary of the Basingstoke branch of Save the Children. And although the branch has since closed down, Colleen has continued to raise money for the charity through initiatives such as the Pancake Day open house.

She said: “The first year I only made about £120 but it has grown over the years.”

Now, she makes an average of 150 pancakes for the men, women and children who pile through her door every Shrove Tuesday.

She said: “I let people eat as many pancakes as they want as long as they make a donation. They definitely don’t just stick to one.”

Colleen, who used to run a B&B, said: “I have a tried-and-tested recipe and just make the pancakes as people arrive.

“I do all the cooking myself but have plenty of help with the washing up. It’s something I enjoy doing.”