A caring Lanarkshire volunteer with a heart of gold has been praised for her kind-heartedness and community spirit.

Margaret Connelly, from Newmains, was nominated for the Wishaw Press Say It With Flowers competition by Kayley Fisher.

The sprightly 73-year-old has volunteered in the St Brigid’s Church charity shop and Newmains community centre for a number of years. Before the pandemic, Margaret also regularly baked for the centre’s cafe and has now turned her attention to keeping all the community gardens in tip top condition.

Kayley told Lanarkshire Live: “Margaret is such a kind-hearted lady. She spends all her free time helping out in the community gardens; she could be out there for hours and I just wanted to give her a wee bit of recognition.”

Margaret has spent her life caring for her family and turned to volunteering after her husband Martin sadly passed away two years ago.

Kayley told us: “She bakes amazing cakes and is well known for her sticky ginger bread and doughnuts. She has a heart of gold and would do anything for anybody.”

And when Kayley told us about Margaret, we were only too pleased to help, presenting her with these beautiful flowers, courtesy of our friends at Pixies Petals in Newmains.

Kayley added: “She gives so much to the community and is always willing to lend a helping hand. I just wanted to give her a little something back for all her kindness and generosity.”

And after receiving the flowers a delighted Margaret said: “It was a lovely surprise. I would like to thank Kayley and the staff at the NCT centre for thinking of me and to the Wishaw Press for nominating me and Pixies Petals for the beautiful arrangement.”

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