THE head of a charity is retiring after more than 18 years of dedicated service.

Stephen Hallett started working at Christ’s Hospital in Sherburn, near Durham, in 1997. Since then he has pioneered hundreds of charitable projects, raising more than £10m for grants supporting poor and vulnerable local people, providing them with food, clothing and furniture.

The charity, which stands on the site of an ancient leper colony founded by the Bishop of Durham in 1181, also provides high quality residential care for elderly people.

Mr Hallett said: “It’s the most enjoyable job I’ve had because you feel that you’re doing something worthwhile. After 18 years you can really see what you’ve achieved. You can see the care we have given to many hundreds of elderly people, and when you give a grant to an organisation you can see what they have done with that money to help others.”

Governors, staff and colleagues gathered at the administrative offices at Sherburn Hospital to commemorate Mr Hallett’s contributions to the charity and wish him a long and happy retirement.

Mr Hallett said that he hopes that he will now have more time to spend travelling the world with his wife.