A charity volunteer has credited Wimbledon Specsavers with saving her eyesight.

Jacqueline Wood, 68, was booked in for a routine check-up in June when optometrist Monali Shah spotted a crease on the retina of her left eye, indicating she was suffering from a detached retina.

Two days later Jacqueline had sight-saving surgery at Moorfields Eye Hospital in Croydon.

Jacqueline was relieved she would be able to continue her volunteer work, which includes stitching vestments at Westminster Abbey and teaching prisoners to sew with charity Fine Cell Work.

Jacqueline said: “My left eye is now actually working better than my right eye and I’m due to go back to the Specsavers store for a new glasses prescription.

She added: “As well as my stitching, I love reading, so anything that threatened the ability to do this was very worrying.”

The condition Jacqueline was diagnosed with is called rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, which often leads to blindness if untreated.

Jacqueline thanked the Wimbledon Specsavers store, particularly Monali, for what she describes as a pleasant experience and encouraged others to get their eyes checked too.

Andrew Kemp, store director at Specsavers Wimbledon said: “We’re very happy with the positive feedback about the service provided by Monali and glad to hear that Jacqueline is making a swift recovery from her operation.

“Caring for your eyes is incredibly important and we would recommend coming in regularly for a check-up, which can help to detect common medical conditions, as well as indicating whether you need to change your glasses or contact lens prescription.”