Pupils and staff from a school in Bushey have collected thousands of stamps to help raise cash for a charity that provides hearing dogs for deaf people.

Beth Filer, a pupil from Bushey Manor Junior School in Grange Road asked her fellow pupils and teachers to take part in a stamp collecting fundraiser last year.

Stamps are sold to foreign collectors by Hearing Dogs for Deaf People and in previous years the scheme has raised up to £4,000.

According to charity representative Liz Arendt, about £7 is paid per kilogram of stamps, with more cash given for stamps from foreign destinations.

Pupils and staff were challenged in an interclass competition to see who could collect the most stamps over Christmas. And at a special assembly today it was revealed that thanks to their efforts, more than 35,000 stamps have been gathered.

But when headteacher Peter McCreadie went to weigh the bulging bin liner filled with them, it almost broke the scales.

He said: "I’m so very proud of all of you, I think the fact that we’ve gone off the scales shows just how well you’ve all done. This is a project that costs us nothing and something we hope to continue with, perhaps not on quite the same scale, in the future."

Ms Arendt, 68, who attended with her dog Maple, lives in Bricket Wood and praised the hard work of staff and pupils.

She said: "I rely on Maple particularly at night, when I have to take out my hearing aids.

"If the fire alarm was to go off, he would alert me and take me to safety.

"He’s made such a difference to my life, I really couldn’t do without him.”

She continued: "It takes about 11 months to train a hearing dog and costs about £20,000. We’re one of the lesser known charities, although we are gaining prominence year by year, so we do tend to be overlooked.

"The fact that Beth has managed to rally around her school friends like this to help - it’s just so overwhelming."

Pupils in 4C won the interclass competition and were given sweets, a toy guide dog and charity pens.

Beth, nine, who was inspired to collect the stamps by her late grandmother, is keen to keep gathering stamps for the charity.

Her father Andrew Filer said: "Just like a dog and stamp isn’t just for Christmas.

"We have been inundated with stamps since the Watford Observer article, from groups all over the area and are still welcoming more.

"I’ve proud of Beth, she’s done a great job. She’s always wanted a dog and I think that is why, in part, she got involved with the charity. Perhaps that will be her reward in the coming months."