The British Heart Foundation increased its income by £13.1m last year to a total of £288.2m, with legacy income hitting £60m for the first time, its latest set of accounts reveal.

Much of the increase for the year ending 31 March 2015, came from a boost to legacy income which rose by £5.3m to £60.8m over the year.

Voluntary donations also provided a boost for the charity, with an additional 50,000 people signing up as regular donors, increasing the donations income by £3.7m to £27.5.

The increase in income was welcome news for the charity which spent more than it earned for the previous two years. This year, total expenditure for the year was £287.3m - some £900,000 less than it earned.

A statement by chief executive Simon Gillespie said the year was a “crucial” one for the charity.

“We have continued to build on our position as a research-driven charity and to consolidate our position as the UK’s leading independent funder of cardiovascular research,” he said.

“This has been a record-breaking year for legacies which have passed £60m for the first time ever. We are grateful to everyone who chose to remember the BHF in their will this year, as legacies continue to be our largest single source of income,” he said.

The charity also enjoyed a healthy income from its retail sector over the year. Some £170.2m was generated through its charity shops, making it the UK’s highest earning retail charity – ahead of Oxfam and Cancer Research UK, according to Civil Society Media's annual Charity Shop Survey.

The charity employed 2,709 staff over the year and spent £67.1m on staff costs. The highest earner brought home a salary of £168,300.

“Every day, extraordinary people have gone to extraordinary lengths to help us improve the lives of those affected by heart disease,” Gillespie said. “Every pound that is raised for us deserves to be put to the best possible use and we take that responsibility very seriously.”