A MELROSE shop has raised more than £500 by selling advent calendars to help a Borders youngster diagnosed with Batten Disease.

Evie Mitchell lives in Melrose with her family and after suffering seizures and eyesight problems, she was diagnosed with an extremely rare version of the genetic neurodegenerative condition.

Evie is the daughter of former Melrose player Wayne and the family are fully focused on making sure her remaining years are happy, comfortable and providing her with rich experiences while she is able to enjoy them.

In July former footballer Craig Livingstone completed his 150-mile walk across the Southern Upland Way from Portpatrick to Lauder then onto Gordon to raise funds for Evie's Batten Journey.

In August the Greenyards hosted a rugby tournament to help make cash for the charity and in September a group of rugby-playing pals from the Borders successfully completed a tough three-peak challenge by climbing the highest peaks in Scotland, England and Wales.

Numerous other events have been held to demonstrate the whole community’s support for Evie and her family.

And staff at the popular Melrose shop Simply Delicious – where Evie and her family are regular customers – wanted to do their bit to help.

On raising the £582, shop owner Jane Davies said: “I’d like to thank everyone that bought a calendar. Every penny taken from the sales will go to Evie’s charity.”

Evie’s family posted the following message on social media to thank all the fundraisers.

“We wanted to say a massive THANK YOU! to everyone who has organised or done a fundraising event for Evie’s Battens Journey. The love and support shown has been amazing and overwhelming.”