Leighton-Linslade's fairtrade steering group has welcomed a newcomer from the world's only 100 per cent fairtrade lender.

Sally Reith works for Shared Interest and will now be offering her knowledge of issues affecting Third World countries to the group, helping them to make further improvements to the fairtrade service on offer in the town.

Sally said: "Shared Interest is based in the UK but works with 41 countries around the globe. My role of supporter relations officer is to increase our number of investors so that we can lend more money to fairtrade businesses in the developing world.

"I am looking forward to working with the group here to encourage more local people to support fairtrade."

When Sally moved to Bedfordshire from Brighton she was pleased to discover that Leighton-Linslade is a fairtrade town.

She added: "It means I can continue to catch up with friends over a fairtrade coffee and enjoy all of the small specialist shops.

"Working for Shared Interest means I am now even more aware of how small actions like this have a big impact on the lives of others. 

"If more people choose to buy fairtrade goods, it means that more communities in the developing world can earn a fair price for their hand-crafted goods and produce. Even small steps like buying fairtrade bananas instead of your usual supermarket brand all add up to make a huge impact."