There’s more than just a warm welcome and a smashing cuppa at Bolton Hospice’s Old Bank Café in Astley Bridge.

There is also the opportunity to volunteer as part of a friendly and welcoming team that serves a grateful public six days a week and is a home from home to many.

It opened its doors seven years ago at the old HSBC premises on Hillview Road, close to the Asda store, and has not only turned into a welcome source of income for the hospice but has become a community asset.

And none of this happens without the amazing volunteers who generously gift their time to help at this professional eatery.

Hannah Grimshaw is one of them. She is 17 and a pupil at Turton Sixth Form College. She first went along to the Old Bank Café a year and a half ago for work experience.

“I don’t know what I really expected but I don’t think it was to go into such a warm and friendly place,” explained Hannah.

The supportive staff soon helped her become a valuable member of the team and now she works each Saturday from 10am to 12.30pm serving on the counter.

She arrives 10 minutes before opening to check items like napkins and the tables and chairs and her time is then filled with customers’ orders and taking till payments.

There are usually three people serving in the café and two in the kitchen supplying hot and cold drinks along with everything from an all-day full English breakfast to toasted teacakes and very popular afternoon teas.

“Our customers are lovely,” added Hannah. “We have plenty of regulars and you get to know about them and their families. It’s really good to talk to people and everyone is so nice when they come in.”

Hannah has plans to go to university and eventually become an environmental scientist but has found her volunteering experience has given her social and practical skills she couldn’t have found anywhere else. There is also something different to talk about to her friends.

She has blossomed in confidence, as café manager Jax Barlow attested. “It’s humbling to see young people like Hannah volunteering here,” she stated. “I don’t think I could have done it at her age but she has really taken to it and grown in every way.”

This particular Saturday, Hannah was in a team with fellow teenager Emily Westhead and Miriam Hunter, 78, who has been at the Old Bank Café since it opened.

Emily, who started volunteering as part of her Duke of Edinburgh award, has also found that volunteering here has brought her out of herself and developed her confidence.

Miriam is from the well-known local Hunter family involved in bakery shops and her talents include making mouth-watering cakes. “I still love being here and have done from the start,” said Miriam. “It’s a lovely place to work.”

For those handling food, there is a necessary NVQ qualification to take which is included in the volunteer package provided by Bolton Hospice.

On a practical level, the Old Bank Café makes a valuable, regular contribution to the hospice coffers.

“My grandfather died in a hospice before I was born,” said Hannah, “so I know they are wonderful places which need financial support.

“Every now and then someone will say ‘guess how much we’ve made this week?’ and it’s always much more than I think. So it’s just great to be able to make a difference.”

The Old Bank Café is located on Hillview Road, next to Asda in Astley Bridge. The café is open 6 days a week, Mon-Sat 10am-2pm. There is also a Bolton Hospice charity shop next door.

To find out more visit www.boltonhospice.org.uk/volunteer.