A CELEBRATION of volunteering work and an open day have been held at the Museum of Dartmoor Life in Okehampton over the past week.

The museum has around 20 volunteers who help with everything from assisting in the shop to putting together exhibitions.

They were given a cream tea, gifts and certificates as part of the Renaissance in the South West Making a Difference Volunteering Day.

It was also a chance for the museum to say a big thank you to the young people from the Puzzle Tree Centre in Okehampton who have taken photos of the town for the People's Record Exhibition.

Museum curator Maurie Webber said the work of volunteers was invaluable and the museum would not be able to run without them.

One volunteer who is making a difference is Ray Piper from Okehampton.

Ray, 72, is a retired Post Office worker, and has been a volunteer at the museum for the past eight years, working in the shop, on the front desk and welcoming visitors.

He knew Maurie from when he was a member of Okehampton's twinning association. He said: 'I enjoy volunteering here and working with Maurie and the other volunteers.

He joked: I know most of the exhibits in the museum myself as I'm older than most of them!'

Around 150 people came to the open day on Saturday which included the Big Draw event and the launch of the 'Turn Back in Time' BBC project.