A kind-hearted hospice volunteer was given a blooming great send-off as she retired from her post after more than a decade.

Joan Northcott, from Chesham, spent 15 years working as a receptionist at South Bucks Hospice, which has its headquarters in High Wycombe.

She was presented with a surprise bouquet of flowers from hospice CEO Jo Woolf at a recent staff get together to mark her retirement.

The 80-year-old former dental receptionist said: “It was a very big surprise and really nice of them to do it – it made me feel that I had made a useful contribution.

“I loved working there and I loved seeing the patients.

“I would recommend volunteering to anybody. You always get more out of it than you put in and it’s a lovely thing to do.

“Volunteering is very rewarding because it’s nice to think you can do something for somebody else.”

Mrs Northcott travelled by bus from Chesham at least once a week to man the reception at Pusey House, the hospice’s former building in High Wycombe.

She said she almost did not apply for the position when she saw it advertised, as she thought there would be others who would want it.

She added: “In the end I plucked up the courage and was interviewed – and I never looked back from there.”

Mrs Northcott decided to retire when she turned 80 because the move to the hospice’s new headquarters, Butterfly House, in Totteridge, would have meant catching two buses.

Now she is urging others to volunteer to man the new building.

Ms Woolf said: “Joan has put in enormous effort and shown so much commitment for our patients and we are really going to miss her – as we will miss the other wonderful volunteers who have recently retired.

“Joan is all we would wish for in a volunteer which is to be warm and welcoming to those who use our services, loyal and truly reliable. We will all miss Joan…”

To volunteer for the South Bucks Community Hospice, email volunteers@sbhospice.org.uk or call 01494 552761.