A RYEDALE bakery firm has hit the £100,000 mark in donations raised for charities over the last 10 years.

Thomas the Baker, which has shops in Malton, Helmsley, Pickering and Kirkbymoorside, reached the milestone after raising £11,000 for Kidney Research UK following a year of fundraising.

The donation was presented at Kidney Research UK’s headquarters in Peterborough by Thomas’ quality assurance manager Chris Chapman, who received a kidney transplant.

“It was a pleasure to be able to go and take this cheque to Kidney Research UK, and obviously it’s something I feel very grateful to have the opportunity to do as a recipient of a kidney transplant 10 years ago,” Chris said.

“Apart from the hospital visits, the regular blood tests and the tablets, life is now as normal as it could be.”

In 2003 Chris, who 43 at the time, went for a routine health check which revealed he had kidney disease.

In 2009, after three years on dialysis, he got the call for a transplant, and although recovery wasn’t easy, the transplant was a success.

The disease is hereditary, which Chris later discovered had led to the death of his father when he was seven.

“The average life for a transplanted kidney is 10 to 15 years, and mine is now 10 years old – it’s vital to me and to millions of others that the research and development continues,” Chris said.

“Thank you to everyone who helped contribute towards the donation; the work it will help fund is so very important.”

Kidney Research UK relies on donations which they use to fund breakthroughs in diagnosis, treatment and patient care for those affected by kidney disease.

Richard Phillips, corporate partnerships manager at Kidney Research UK, said: “I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who works and shops at Thomas the Baker - the £11,000 will go a long way in funding life-saving research.”