Housing minister Margaret Burgess visited Shelter Scotland’s Prestwick Shop last week to meet and congratulate volunteer Fiona Burnett after she won a national award for her charitable work.

Fiona, 47, who has learning difficulties, was named as the number one volunteer in the UK in The Guardian Voluntary Network awards. The award was voted for by the public, with Fiona receiving more than a third of the votes.

Fiona, who has knitted a blanket every week for Shelter Scotland since starting in 2002 – almost 700 blankets in total - was also shortlisted as Scotland’s Charity Champion at the National Charity Awards earlier this year.

Mrs Burgess met Fiona at the Shelter Scotland shop on Main Street, Prestwick, where she has volunteered for 13 years, and was presented with one of her blankets.

Fiona’s efforts have won the hearts of locals and tourists alike, who often donate wool to the shop to help Fiona knit her creations, which sell for £4 each. To date, her blankets have raised over £2,700 for Shelter Scotland.

Housing minister Margaret Burgess said: “Fiona is an inspiration. To volunteer at any time is an achievement, but to do so over such a long period and for such a good cause as tackling homelessness is something to be proud of.

“Volunteers across Scotland of all ages form a valuable national resource and are vital to the success of Scotland. They often play a major part in building the confidence of those who feel marginalised in our society, helping them realise their potential, develop their talents and skills to go on to lead healthy, fulfilled lives and become economically active.”

On her volunteering and blanket knitting, Fiona Burnett said: “When I knitted my first blanket all those years ago I never imagined that I’d get awards for doing what I love.

“The blankets started off as a bit of a one-off but when I saw that they were selling so well and raising money for a good cause, I decided to knit one every week. It takes me about four days to knit them from start to finish, but the money raised helps people for much longer than that.

“It’s good fun creating the patterns, and even better when I come in to the shop to find the blankets have sold.”

Fiona volunteers at the shop four days a week and has clocked up almost 11,000 voluntary hours.

Graeme Brown, director of Shelter Scotland, said: “Fiona is a highly-valued volunteer and the time and effort she puts in from the minute she walks through the door to when she leaves is humbling.

“I’d like to thank the Housing Minister Margaret Burgess for taking the time to meet Fiona and recognise the hard work that she has put in over the years.

“Without the help and support of volunteers just like Fiona, Shelter Scotland’s work to help homeless and badly housed people would be made much harder. I want to thank her for dedicating so many years to helping us in the fight against bad housing and homelessness.”

@shelterscotland