ROSSENDALE Hospice has welcomed a new face to its team in a bid to raise its profile and generate extra money for the charity.

Former Lancashire Evening Telegraph journalist Tony Garner, who now runs Rossendale-based public relations consultancy Viva PR, will work alongside the board on a voluntary basis.

Rossendale-born Tony, 36, who lives in Edenfield, said: "The hospice deserves a much higher profile than it currently enjoys and I will be aiming to help them achieve greater exposure for their work.

"It is an extremely progressive hospice and a great deal of ground-breaking work is carried out there, not least in the field of Complementary Therapy. The hospice is incredibly valuable to the Rossendale community and I'm happy to offer my services."

As well as the hospice, Tony handles PR and copywriting for a number of companies across East Lancashire.

Rossendale Hospice chief executive Paul Norris said: "We are happy to have someone of Tony's experience and talents to call on. We rely heavily on fundraising for our survival.

"Anything that can help publicise the work of the hospice and keep it in people's mind will be of benefit.

"We are proud of the work carried out here at Cribden House and believe it deserves more publicity. Tony will help us achieve that.