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A Cleckheaton retailer and its customers have been praised for raising more than £1.5million for good causes by selling National Lottery products.

Batley and Spen MP Kim Leadbeater visited Paperland, on Northgate, to award proprietors Kawal and Suman Devasher with a plaque marking their and their customers’ achievements.

The husband and wife team have owned the shop and been serving the local community for more than 20 years.

Ms Leadbeater said: “I was delighted to visit Paperland to mark their and their customers’ contributions to National Lottery Good Causes.

Kawal and Suman Devasher with Batley and Spen MP Kim Leadbeater

“Thanks to National Lottery players and to independent shops like this one, over £17million has gone to good causes in Batley and Spen alone since 1994.

"I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some fantastic local National Lottery-funded projects in recent months and seen first-hand the amazing work they do in their communities.

“I enjoyed meeting Kawal and Suman and hearing more about their wonderful shop.

"Supporting local independent shops and the high streets they’re on is really important as so often they are the lifeblood of their communities.”

Pictured outside Paperland in Cleckheaton are Wendy Cowell, of Camelot; Batley and Spen MP Kim Leadbeater; Kawal and Suman Devasher, owners of Paperland; Viney, of Paperland; and Karl Southworth, of Camelot

On receiving the plaque, Kawal said: “I am extremely proud that, through buying National Lottery games at our store, our customers have been able to raise so much for good causes.

"To be recognised by Ms Leadbeater for helping to raise so much over the years is also really special.”

Camelot’s head of field sales, Karl Southworth, said: “Independent retailers like Paperland make up the majority of our retail partners and are vitally important to The National Lottery’s ongoing success. They are the backbone of The National Lottery and, to most players, our public face.

"We can’t thank them and their customers enough for helping to raise an average of over £30 million each and every week for good causes across the UK.”

For every National Lottery ticket sold, a proportion of the money received benefits a huge variety of projects that make a difference to the lives of people and communities the length and breadth of the country.

To date, The National Lottery has raised £47billion and counting for projects across the UK.

National Lottery congratulates Cleckheaton store and its customers for raising more than £1.5m for good causes in Batley and Spen