An optician's and a church collected more than 850 pairs of second hand glasses for a global sight charity.

Specsavers in Edmonton Green recruited the help of nearby St Edmund’s Church in the two-month charity collection to fund eyecare for people in developing countries.

Throughout April and May, parishioners collected more than 500 pairs of glasses, with a further 350 handed in at the North Mall shopping centre store.

All of the glasses will be donated to Vision Aid Overseas (VAO), a charity that uses the proceeds from selling the reusable materials towards establishing vision centres, training healthcare workers and using volunteers to give eye examinations and treatment.

Specsavers store manager Anar Desai said: “Eyecare is something we take for granted in the UK because there is an optician on almost every high street, but for people in developing countries this is not the case.

“The VAO recycling scheme is a fantastic initiative and we encourage all of our customers purchasing new glasses to donate their old pair. It’s so easy to do and rather than gathering dust at the back of a cupboard, they can benefit people in countries where quality eyecare is not as readily available.”