HOLIDAY makers who dropped their spare francs, lira and pesetas into the charity box at Co-op Travelcare in Darwen have raised several hundred pounds for the East Lancashire Hospice.

Three years worth of foreign currency filled two large money bags, which will be converted into Sterling by the Nat West Bank in Blackburn.

The haul includes coins and notes from Kuwait, Indonesia, Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Ireland and Spain.

Andrea Taylor, a cashier at the shop on Market Street said: "People have been quite generous. When they change their holiday money back into pounds there's always some spare notes or coins which are left over, so they put them in a box on the counter."

Stuart Andrew, fund-raising manager for the East Lancashire Hospice, which cares for seriously ill patients across the region, said: "We don't know how much is there at the moment because there are so many different currencies and it takes about two weeks to sort out, but in the past we have collected several hundred pounds.

"It just goes to show what can be done with all that spare change that's lying around in the bottom of cupboards and drawers."

Picture: Andrea Taylor, Anne Whittaker and Stuart Andrew with the cash