Cookstown dad and daughter Ali and Shelly raise over £20,000 for local charity

The Cookstown-based charity helps young people with learning disabilities, including Ali's 21-year-old son Callum, who is autistic.

Home shopping driver Ali is 58 and has worked at Asda Cookstown for two years, while 35-year-old counters colleague Shelly has been at the store for 17 years.

Shelly, who has a five-year-old daughter Maliah, said: "It's great working at the same place as my dad. I only live a few doors down from him and my mum, Ovella, so I always pop there for a coffee on the way to work as he's an early riser. We're only a three-minute drive to work too - literally round the corner.

"I worked at the store first. My daddy was a window cleaner for 30 years before joining Asda but unfortunately he had a knee replacement so ladders weren't an option for him. There was a driver's position which was perfect for him.

"Colleagues here at the store think it's great that we both work at the store. It's a very friendly store, and we're friends both inside and outside of work as well. Everyone loves my dad. He's a biker so he's always going on his motorbike and colleagues always come out to look at it.

Ali says it's lovely working with his daughter.

He said: "She's such a friendly girl, everyone loves her here. She comes around to ours on a morning for a coffee and when she's at work she brings me one out when I'm loading my van.

"I love the teamwork at the store and all the customers are great. Colleagues love to see my Harley Davidson – I joke with then that they can look but they can't touch. I've had my current one for two years, and she's my pride and joy."

For the past few years, Ali and Shelly have organised an annual rock night in the Railway Bar in Cookstown for the Superstars Club.

This year, along with another colleague, Elaine Nelson who lives across the road from Ali and Shelly, they raised £4,010 which was further boosted by Asda match funding of £1,200.