IT was a poignant moment for Les Ratcliffe when he pressed the button to draw Bury Hospice's Red Rose Lottery on Friday.

That's because after nine years of being the lottery promoter, Les is stepping down and the draw, along with the phone call to the lucky owner of the £1,000 winning ticket, was his final duty.

But as he leaves, Les, from Helmshore, has thrown out a challenge.

"A good way to support Bury Hospice is by playing the Red Rose Lottery each week. If another one in three people took part it would make a tremendous difference."

Paying tribute to Les, Mervyn Reeves, Hospice fundraising manager, said: "Les was there at the beginning and instantly saw the difference it would make to the fund-raising income. During his time the lottery has raised more than £2 million for the Hospice. Now more than 7,500 people play the hospice lottery each week."

He added: "Les puts a tremendous amount of effort into everything he does for the hospice. We are sorry he is running down his workload but delighted that he is continuing to be the president of the hospice."