SALE-based law firm Slater Heelis LLP has given a major boost to Henshaws Society for Blind People.

The practice has handed over a donation of £9,601.64 to mark the Old Trafford-based charity’s 175th anniversary this year.

The donation is the latest step in a long relationship between Slater Heelis and Henshaws which began in 1807 when the law firm drafted Thomas Henshaw’s will.

The 70-strong firm has dealt with a number of early donations and bequests to Henshaws, dating back to the 1860s, and continues to support the charity with fundraising and donations today.

Henshaws will use the money to go towards funding the charity’s Skillstep programme, which is a 12-week course offering pre-vocational training for unemployed blind and partially sighted people covering key areas such as skills training, IT, mobility skills and a two week work placement.

Thomas Henshaw left a legacy in his will to establish an ‘asylum for the Indigent blind’, which opened in Old Trafford in 1837.

Tom Clark. legacies officer of Henshaws, said: “This donation will make a huge difference to our clients, allowing them to take part in the Skillstep programme, which really develops their confidence and helps them to discover new skills.”

Chris Partington, a partner at Slater Heelis, whose 15-year-old niece Beth Arnold is partially sighted, said: “We have a strong and very special relationship with Henshaws and are proud to support the amazing work they do.”

Slater Heelis LLP was founded in 1773.