A CREDITON bookshop can now boast a state of the art electronic till, which also looks after its stock control, thanks to a pledge from a best-selling American author.

Earlier this year, James Patterson, author of novels including those about fictional psychologist Alex Cross, pledged £250,000 to British and Irish independent bookshops to get children reading - and Crediton Community Bookshop applied for some of the cash through The Booksellers' Association, to make its business more efficient.

Shop Manager Dee Lalljee said: “A lot of work goes on behind the scenes to make our School Book Fairs and sales to schools a success.

“Having this till will make life much easier, as volunteers will not find it so tricky to use, and I can handle our stock better.

“The old till was well past its sell-by date."

Bookshop Chairman Ken McKechnie said: “We are tremendously grateful to James Patterson for his generosity and imagination, and to the people at The Booksellers' Association who are administering the money.

“It couldn't have been easier to apply, and will make a real difference to us.”

Author James Patterson said: “Far too many children are in danger of living their lives without books - this runs the risk of living in a world run by the short-sighted, by the empathy-challenged, and by the glib.

“Bookshops are the most viable bulwark against this and I need to be part of the fight to ensure their survival.”

John Skrine, a bookshop volunteer who also works part time for Involve, added: “Being a community enterprise, as we are, means we have to be profitable to succeed, like any other business, but we can also turn to grants like this one, which is much better than borrowing from the bank.

“And then there's all the work our volunteers put in, which means we can do so much more for our customers without adding to the overheads.”