THE people of Bury are £400,000 richer thanks to Bury Hospice!

That's the amazing amount handed out to its £1,000 winners by the Hospice's Red Rose Lottery since it started in 1994.

The milestone was marked on Friday (Feb 15) with an event at Bury Town Hall where fund-raisers set themselves the target of signing up an extra 3,000 people to the Lottery.

The Hospice celebrated a big milestone when its 400th Red Rose Lottery draw took place.

Doing the honours was the Mayor of Bury, Coun Paul Nesbit, and the lucky £1,000 winner was Mrs Cora Shaw, from Greenmount.

The lottery was established in 1994 to help with the day-to-day running costs of the Dumers Lane hospice, while at the same time giving local people the opportunity to win up to £1,000 a week.

Today the lottery is the Hospice's main fundraiser and in its existence so far it has awarded 24,000 prize cheques to winners.

Last year alone the money-spinning lottery made £182,000 for the hospice, not including the £104,000 it paid out in prizes.

And on Monday (Feb18) Bury's mayor and mayoress held a buffet in the Elizabethan Suite of Bury Town Hall to celebrate the remarkable achievement.

In attendance were around 80 past £1,000 winners, including Mrs Cathy Marsh who was the very first jackpot winner.

Lottery manager Mr Steve Holt said: "At the moment the Red Rose Lottery has around 7,000 members but our aim now is to swell the membership to 10,000.

"For just £1 a week people can make a big difference to people's lives. Anyone wanting more details about joining should phone 763 1893."

Malcolm Gray, the former director of education for Bury, is the new chairman of Bury Hospice.

His appointment follows the death of Colin Caffrey last month. Mr Gray has been an active member of the charity on Dumers Lane since his retirement several years ago.