With fundraising activities stopped for the foreseeable future and the prospect of a tough winter to come, Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice is calling on local people to help.

Gloucestershire's only in-patient palliative care unit is facing a funding gap of £1.6m over the coming months.

When charity shops were closed overnight and fundraising activities forced to stop immediately, the drop in income meant that, for the first time ever, the hospice's future was in doubt.

Leckhampton Court was forced to launch an emergency funding appeal in response. Gloucestershire people dug deep and have so far raised more than £234,000 to help the hospice continue to provide essential palliative care for the county.

Elise Hoadley, hospice director, said: "I would like to take this opportunity to say a heartfelt thank you from all of us at Sue Ryder. We are so very grateful for the support you have all shown us.

"Unfortunately, our struggle is not yet over. Our fundraising events remain cancelled for the rest of this year, we have no clear indication of how long it will take for our shops to return to normal trading levels and we continue to incur the additional cost of purchasing PPE for our doctors and nurses."

The Prime Minister recently announced that £3 billion is being made available to support health services in the UK, but this will not include hospices. Left with a £1.6m funding gap for this financial year alone, Leckhampton Court is desperately in need of support from our local community.

Elise Hoadley added: "Even if we are able to avoid a second wave of this dreadful virus, by winter Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice will be struggling again financially.

"We know that times are tough for everybody at the moment, so please be reassured that every bit really does help."

Your can donate at sueryder.org/donate and click on 'Leckhampton Court'.