Longfield Community Hospice is taking part in The Big Give Christmas Challenge, the UK's largest match funding campaign, between November 28 and December 5, to raise money towards funding their Hospice at Home teams who visit patients around Gloucestershire who need care.

For one week only, every donation made to the campaign will be doubled.

The charity has set a target of raising £4,500. If they succeed in raising this amount, the £4,500 will be doubled and be worth £9,000, which go towards keeping the care team on the road. Every day of the year, including Christmas Day, hospice staff travel miles across Gloucestershire to care for terminally ill people in the comfort of their own homes.

Sue Parris, director of care, said: "This year Richard E Grant has provided his support to the hospice with a video introducing the campaign. People don't understand that our specialist nurses and healthcare assistants travel to patients in Gloucester, Wotton-under-Edge, Cirencester and beyond. In just one year, we drive over 100,000 miles across Gloucestershire to provide free and urgently needed hospice care. You can imagine how quickly petrol costs mount up. So, if we can raise £9,000 it would cover the cost of travelling to an additional 51 patients, multiple times a day, for as long as we're needed."

Liz Brown, a specialist nurse at Longfield, added: "People are astonished at the area we cover for Hospice at Home! In one morning, one team of carers might cover 70 miles if we have three patients in Cirencester, two in Berkley and two in Gloucester. We have to look at a way of delivering care and best clinical practice in a cost-effective way. That is quite a challenge at times, both cost- and time-wise.

"It's not unusual for roads to be closed or traffic diverted, then we have to quickly change our plans. Our teams often must drive single-track roads or up steep hills navigating hairpin bends. We travel whatever the weather, through beautiful sunshine, thick fog, and lashing rain. Our carers have had to abandon their cars at the side of the road and trudge through snow and ice to get to patients.

"If we succeed in reaching our £4,500 target, every penny you donate this week will be matched! This will make a huge difference to the support we can provide this Christmas and beyond."

Donations open November 28 for one week here .