Volunteers are giving 4,218.75 hours a year of their spare time to the Thelma Hulbert Gallery in Honiton. You could join them...

VOLUNTEERS are saving council tax payers more than �30,000 by helping to run the Thelma Hulbert Gallery in Honiton.

The council says the gallery is ahead of David Cameron’s vision for the Big Society, having used volunteers since the gallery opened 12 years ago.

“The use of volunteers contributes to the effective and safe running of our exhibition programme and without them we would not be able to open at all,” said a spokesman.

Volunteers at the gallery give 4,218.75 hours per year of their free time for no salary.

This equates to 586 days per year.

Based on the average wage of a casual worker, this is an annual contribution of �33,750 - what it would cost to employ two full-time staff members.

The spokesman added: “We think these figures speak for themselves, but it really does highlight how much we need our fantastic volunteers and how grateful we are to each and every one of them.”

If you would like to become a volunteer or find out more about what is going on at the gallery, please contact Deborah Smith at Thelma Hulbert Gallery on (01404) 45006, or visit the website at www.thelmahulbert.com