A NEW face has joined the team of fund-raisers set to make East Lancashire Hospice's new day care centre a runaway success.

Professional fund-raiser Stuart Andrew, 28, has already shown what he can do by raising £500,000 for the Hope House children's hospice, Shropshire, and now he wants to do it again for East Lancashire.

Stuart, who has just moved to Manchester from South Wales, will be responsible for raising £300,000 a year to run the day care centre at Park Lee, Blackburn, due to be opened next year.

He said: "I'm looking forward to it. It's a great challenge but I know I've got the support from everyone who's worked so hard on the committee." Stuart will be working full-time from the hospice appeal office in Queen's Park Hospital to build up a long-term strategy to meet the new unit's running costs.

East Lancashire Hospice chairman Geoff Braithwaite said building work on the £1.3million extension would begin this summer if the committee's £750,000 lottery bid was successful.

He said: "When we are up and running, the unit will benefit 100 people a week. We hope that will go up over time, and then we will need more nursing staff."

To help the appeal, call the East Lancashire Hospice Appeals Office on 01254 660900 or Amy Binns at the Lancashire Evening Telegraph on 01254 678678 ext 208.

Donations can be made at any NatWest branch into the East Lancashire Hospice Fund Day Care Unit Appeal account, sort code 01-00-85 a/c 12804509.

Geoff Braithwaite (right) chairman of the East Lancs Hospice appeal fund, is pictured greeting new fund-raiser Stuart Andrew.