A teacher who died aged 92 has left more than £500,000 to churches and national charities.

Retired Latin teacher Bertha Wilkinson, of Greenacre Residential Home, Ringmer, near Lewes, died of natural causes on February 17 this year.

Home manager June Hadfield said: "She was a very kind, very caring lady. She liked the church and used to be very independent.

"Half a million is a surprise - she was a very thrifty lady and never overspent on herself."

Miss Wilkinson spent much of her life travelling the world teaching Latin before moving to the home in January last year.

The legacy includes money for Selmeston Church, St Mary's Church, Ringmer, the Royal National Institute for the Blind, Marie Curie Cancer Care, Oxfam, Save the Children, Age Concern and the National Trust.