A Christmas fund-raising appeal by Hospice Care for Burnley and Pendle gave the charity a "brilliant" cash boost.

The Light up a Life appeal, which gave people the chance to sponsor a light bulb on the charity's Pendleside Hospice, Reedley, raised £18,000.

The building was covered with 2,000 coloured bulbs over Christmas and New Year and demand was so great that organisers erected three Christmas trees in the hospice grounds which were also covered with bulbs.

People were also able to have the name of their loved ones included in a permanent Book of Remembrance which will be on display at the hospice from Easter onwards.

"Light up a Life has been a phenomenal success this year," said Kaye Bartle, fund-raising assistant at the hospice. "We particularly wanted it to be special to mark the millennium and we achieved our target of having 2,000 bulbs sponsored.

"Light up a Life seems to be so popular because people find that is is a particularly poignant way to remember loved ones at Christmas time and through the year with the Book of Remembrance."

The lights were switched on by the Mayors of Burnley and Pendle on December 12. The project was sponsored by a number of local firms and organisations together with the two borough councils.

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