A MAN who failed every exam he ever took knows how to add up - after collecting almost a quarter of a million pounds in loose change for charity.

Randy Langford, 82, has been handing out St Michael's Hospice collection tins to shops and cafes around the county since 1993.

During that time he has gathered £240,000 for the charity.

Randy, from Mordiford, said: "My wife Molly and I had just retired from running a fruit farm when I met a friend who asked if I was interested in volunteering for the hospice. I arranged a meeting and I was asked if I would like to do some office work. I told them I couldn’t even turn a computer on, but I could talk, so they gave me a list of all the collecting tins out around the county and I was off.

"I remember the first three or four places I visited the tins were empty, all left out of sight, so I used my initiative and looked for spots where money moved, like shops and cafés, and places where people would put the money in the tin rather than back in their wallet.

"After the first year I had collected £3,000."

Randy worked out that he has collected around 30 tonnes of change over the years.

Randy said: "At school I failed every exam I ever took, but I have always been able to talk to people. This job gives me the opportunity to do what I’m good at and because of it, I have made friends right across Herefordshire. It keeps me young and alive."

To volunteer for the hospice call 01432 851000.