THE FINISH line is in sight thanks to a remarkable £3,000 pledge to the Gazette's campaign to spare the Thornbury Citizens Advice Bureau from imminent closure - the largest donation to date.

The Save our CAB fundraising appeal, which has galvanised locals over the past two months, received the sum on Monday from The Richard Davies Charitable Foundation - catapulting its running total to £10,545.

With just £1,500 needed to reach the bureau’s £12,000 target and just two weeks left to do so, every penny counts.

"We really are nearly there," said South Gloucestershire CAB chief executive Christine Kenny.

"The latest amazing donation means that we're within reach of being able to keep the bureau open for a further year.

"It's a big boost that's come at just the right time to remind everyone that those last few pounds will make all the difference to local people who need our help over the coming year. Thank you all so much."

The Charitable Foundation was set up by Richard Davies, a retired funeral director from Almondsbury, 25 years ago.

The benefactor and his family have supported a multitude of charities over the years including the Severn Area Rescue Association and The Prince’s Trust.

Although unlike any organisation they had backed before, they were swayed to support the worthy CAB cause by the Gazette's campaign.

Kathleen Davies, Mr Davies’ wife and foundation trustee, told the Gazette: "We don’t normally give to that sort of project but I said ‘Well, they do such a lot of good work'. We hoped to help. We just thought it was a good idea."

The donation was consolidated on the same day by a further £500 contribution from the Thornbury Lions.

The appeal was launched at the end of February, with the aim to raise £12,000 by the end of May to pay the wages of the branch's two supervisors for another year.

Since then, locals, businesses, clubs and former and current customers have rallied around the bureau and its volunteers.

The CAB has been in the town for more than 20 years and has supported countless families and residents in the community through illness, financial troubles and extremely trying times in their lives.

In the last year alone it has helped 400 locals deal with debt and other issues.

With benefit reforms affecting thousands of social housing tenants in the region, the charity anticipates an unprecedented surge in the number of people seeking help from its volunteers in the coming months.